Definition of mangled
1
: severely injured or damaged by cutting, tearing, or crushing
a mangled foot A special bed—a box lined with cottonwool—was made for the mangled pigeon while the Wilsons nursed it …— Iain Macdonald … mangled warplanes lie strewn across the desert floor, their wings and tails torn off, their fuselages punctured.— Richard Wolkomir
2
: spoiled or made incoherent
a mangled message mangled punctuation/syntax This is a draft manuscript waiting for an editor to impose coherence and to smooth over mangled grammar, malapropisms and political oversimplifications.— Emily MacFarquhar
Test Your Vocabulary
Commonly Confused Words Quiz
-
- I went to the ______ store to buy a birthday card.

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share mangled
Time Traveler for mangled
The first known use of mangled was in the 15th century
See more words from the same century