noun

ablation

a-BLAY-shun

Ablation (noun) means a medical procedure that destroys a small amount of tissue deliberately, usually with heat, cold or a laser, to treat a condition such as an irregular heartbeat or a tumour. Example: “She had a cardiac ablation to correct the arrhythmia.”

noun

A medical procedure that destroys a small amount of tissue deliberately, usually with heat, cold or a laser, to treat a condition such as an irregular heartbeat or a tumour.

"She had a cardiac ablation to correct the arrhythmia."

technical The wearing away or loss of material from a surface, as with a glacier losing ice or a spacecraft's heat shield burning away on re-entry.

"Glacier ablation outpaced snowfall that year."

How to Use Ablation

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishDestroying or wearing away a small area of tissue or material on purpose.

When to use it

Technical — medicine, geology and engineering.

Common pairings

cardiac ablation laser ablation glacier ablation

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Can you complete this real example?

She had a cardiac _____ to correct the arrhythmia.

Etymology

From Latin "ablatus," carried away, from "auferre" (to remove).

Origin: Latin

Synonyms

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removal

Related Words

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Rhymes for ablation

region billion allusion emulsion ideation novation abortion abrasion diffusion elocution extension oxidation

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is ablation?

In medicine, deliberately destroying a small area of tissue — often with heat, extreme cold or a laser — to treat a problem such as an irregular heart rhythm, a tumour or heavy periods.

What is cardiac ablation?

A procedure in which a catheter is threaded to the heart and used to scar the small patch of tissue causing an abnormal rhythm, so the faulty electrical signal can no longer travel through it.

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