ablation

noun

ab·​la·​tion a-ˈblā-shən 

: the process of ablating: such as

a

: surgical removal

b

: loss of a part (such as ice from a glacier or the outside of a nose cone) by melting or vaporization

Examples of ablation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Success rates for ablation, where only effects of the fine-tuning procedure are removed, were 44 percent (1.5 Flash) and 61 percent (1.0 Pro). —ArsTechnica, 28 Mar. 2025

An ablation destroys the cells in the heart that are causing the abnormal rhythm. —Nicole Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman, 30 May 2024

The surgery—an ablation (where doctors burn away abnormal tissue)—lasted a few hours, and recovery took three weeks. —Katrina Martin, Health, 4 Mar. 2025

When the doctor said that Robert needed to treat his depression before undergoing radiofrequency ablation for the pain in his groin, Robert, who had disclosed his BID during the intake, went stony. —Michelle Orange, Harper's Magazine, 14 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ablacioun "removal," borrowed from Late Latin ablātiōn-, ablātiō, from Latin ablā-, suppletive stem of auferre "to carry away, remove" + -tiōn-, tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at ablate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ablation

• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation
• conflation

Kids Definition

ablation

noun

ab·​la·​tion a-ˈblā-shən 

: the process of ablating: as

a

: surgical cutting and removal

b

: removal of a part (as the outside of a nose cone) by melting or vaporization

Medical Definition

ablation

noun

ab·​la·​tion a-ˈblā-shən 

: the process of ablating

especially : surgical removal