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

There may be hope for battered Gen Z consumers, however. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 26 Mar. 2024

The vibe within the battered crenulated ramparts of the estate is marinated in the leve-leve: that rare sense of unhurried time that defines Príncipe and is its charm and crucible. —Catherine Fairweather, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2024

My first visit to the Middle East involved backpacking through a battered Lebanon after the 1982 Israeli invasion, which left many Palestinians dead but hasn’t improved Israel’s security. —Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024

Israel was not particularly helpful in getting humanitarian assistance into battered northern Gaza in the first half of March, facilitating only 11 of the 24 aid missions the United Nations planned, the agency said Tuesday. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024

The images of Chalamet in a ratty getup, carrying a battered guitar case, circulated on social media ahead of the official first-look images that usually come later. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 18 Mar. 2024

Russia, meanwhile, took control of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka on Saturday, after Ukraine’s troops withdrew from the battered town. —Josh Feldman, NBC News, 18 Feb. 2024

Finally, 106 days after the ambulances rushed their battered bodies to the hospital, the couple were cleared to leave. —Safak Timur Emin Ozmen, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2024

More concretely, the U.K. government also agreed to give Northern Ireland more than 3 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) for its battered public services once the Belfast government is back up and running. —Jill Lawless, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing battered

• battered child syndrome
• battered woman syndrome