Scarifies means to make small cuts or scratches on the surface of something. Some synonyms for scarifies include scoring, cutting, incising, marlinspiking, gashing, lacerating, slashing, and nicking. All these words refer to the process of making small cuts or scratches on a surface in order to prepare it for some activity. Scarification can be done in many contexts, such as agriculture, horticulture, gardening, tattooing, and medicine. No matter what the context is, the goal of scarification is to create a pattern or to make the surface more receptive to some kind of treatment or enhancement.