The doctor Sinuhe travelled across Egypt and the Mediterranean region trepanning skulls and drinking wine.
Source: tatoeba (4540650)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Keep "trepanning" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "trepanning" intact in the sentence you are editing.
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
After choosing a replacement for "trepanning", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "trepanning" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
3 total sentences available.
The doctor Sinuhe travelled across Egypt and the Mediterranean region trepanning skulls and drinking wine.
Source: tatoeba (4540650)
"I believe in the good old British public. Slow and stupid, but sound at the core. They will not stand for injustice if you can get the truth into their heads." "They damned well need trepanning before you can get it there," said the solicitor.
Source: wiktionary
Ms. Feilding, who was known as Lady Mindbender and the Crackpot Countess, once drilled a tiny hole in her skull to increase blood flow, a medieval practice called trepanning. […] Eager to stretch the boundaries of her mind further, Ms. Feilding became obsessed with trepanning, believing that puncturing the skull relieved pressure and increased blood flow, perhaps creating a permanent high.
Source: wiktionary
Closest matches include bore, boring, penetration, perforation, piercing.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.