Looking for a word that means "to damage from inside"
- Thread starter starrykitten
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Although none of these are as specific as to mean all that, but:
corrode
rot
putrefy
canker (the verb)
corrode
rot
putrefy
canker (the verb)
How exactly is the damage occurring? I have a feeling something like "infect" might be close to accurate, but nothing else comes to mind.
Implode is the opposite of explode. It's what happens to, say, a submarine crushed and collapsing in on itself under high pressure at the bottom of the ocean.
Not sure exactly what the OP's scenario is but if there is a specific word for 'to damage from the inside' (of something living, I presume) will it mean anything to readers.
A simple explanation including the right descriptive words is far clearer.
Not sure exactly what the OP's scenario is but if there is a specific word for 'to damage from the inside' (of something living, I presume) will it mean anything to readers.
A simple explanation including the right descriptive words is far clearer.
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Yeah, inside of what? Sabotage would work, depending on the exact circumstances.
Undermine?
Ravage has a broad enough meaning that it could work.
Looking up synonyms for sabotage gave me lots of ideas.
Undermine?
Ravage has a broad enough meaning that it could work.
Looking up synonyms for sabotage gave me lots of ideas.
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You do not know what my situation is right now, and I feel the implications of this comment are unfair.
I appreciate everyone's help with this. To clarify, I was referring to damaging a body (not in a viral way, more in a blunt force way). And this is for a poem, so I can't really include a longer explanation.
Tear (an organ or muscle or tendon)
A common medical expression for a damage that comes with age is "wear and tear."
Injury - if the blunt trauma is from the external source and damage is either external or internal.
A common medical expression for a damage that comes with age is "wear and tear."
Injury - if the blunt trauma is from the external source and damage is either external or internal.
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Welcome. I'm not sure how blunt force can be applied both to and from inside a body unless something or someone is inside the body and able to apply the force.
If it's a poem one is obviously much freer to use metaphor and hint at meanings perhaps not normally associated with particular words but I'm still not sure how such a word can be found from what little detail you've given.
Good luck.
If it's a poem one is obviously much freer to use metaphor and hint at meanings perhaps not normally associated with particular words but I'm still not sure how such a word can be found from what little detail you've given.
Good luck.
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Is the 'thing' doing the 'eating away at' or 'doing damage from the inside' a physical thing or an imagined thing - thoughts perhaps, memories or feelings.
nibbled? chipped? niggled? pecked? -
The list is endless until you give us something a little more concrete to work with.
nibbled? chipped? niggled? pecked? -
The list is endless until you give us something a little more concrete to work with.
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Thank you all for your suggestions, and my apologies for not being more specific. The sentence I was puzzling over contained graphic violence in a highly personal context, and I am still working up the courage to share the writing. I should have included that from the start, that my reluctance to give details was about my own sitting-on-the-fence about this piece, despite that I have shared very personal things in the past through published writing. You all did very well, especially considering how little you had to go on, and I thank you for that.
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