battered

adjective

bat·​tered ˈba-tərd 

1

: damaged or worn down by hard use

a battered old hat

a battered truck

2

: injured by repeated blows

the victim's battered body

a boxer's battered face

3

: subjected to repeated physical abuse

providing help for battered wives/children

… the store turned into an impromptu women's crisis center, where battered women and mothers trying to rescue their daughters from abusive dads gravitated.

—Donna Minkowitz

Examples of battered in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When Judy finally catches up to him, Mike convinces her to allow the bleeding and battered fugitive to escape the scene on a boat. —Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 7 June 2024

Beth Neumeier was 48-years-old when her battered body was found hidden underneath a mulch pile in a vacant lot on 24th Street in the Middle Keys city of Marathon on May 4, 2008, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 6 June 2024

The scraping of a hatchet over his head was the least of what was done to the man, whose eyes were swollen and whose face was so battered that his jaw appeared to be broken. —Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024

The Shannon Park community was quiet on May 21 as neighbor Bernie Kuebler drove by showing a coworker the battered house. —Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 28 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing battered

• battered child syndrome
• battered woman syndrome