mutilate

verb

mu·​ti·​late ˈmyü-tə-ˌlāt 

mutilated; mutilating; mutilates

transitive verb

1

: to cut up or alter radically so as to make imperfect

The child mutilated the book with his scissors.

a painting mutilated by vandals

2

: to cut off or cause severe damage to a limb or essential part of

His arm was mutilated in the accident.

mutilator

ˈmyü-tə-ˌlā-tər 

noun

plural mutilators

Synonyms

• cripple
• disable
• incapacitate
• lame
• maim

Choose the Right Synonym for mutilate

maim, mutilate, mangle mean to injure so severely as to cause lasting damage.

maim implies the loss or injury of a body part.

maimed by a shark

mutilate implies the cutting off or removal of an essential part of a person or thing thereby impairing its completeness, beauty, or function.

a tree mutilated by inept pruning

mangle implies a tearing or crushing that leaves deep wounds.

a soldier's leg mangled by shrapnel

Examples of mutilate in a Sentence

a painting mutilated by vandals

was lucky not to be mutilated in the car crash

Recent Examples on the Web

But the client protested; the Neuralink scientist whose experiment left the 7-year-old monkey’s brain mutilated wanted to wait another day. —Dell Cameron, WIRED, 4 Oct. 2023

Everett bought a cache of cheap guitars to trash while recording, whether bashing them with microphones, tearing up the strings, or mutilating them into new instruments entirely. —Eric Torres, Pitchfork, 14 Sep. 2023

According to the Daily Pilot, wildlife officials in California are blaming a snapping turtle for mutilating five ducks and geese at a public park over the course of a year. —Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 9 Nov. 2023

One of your rivals, Tim Scott, has said what slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. —ABC News, 20 Sep. 2023

He, Nauta, and De Oliveira have all been newly charged with altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing an object, as well as corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing an object. —Tori Otten, The New Republic, 28 July 2023

Then came the photos: piles of bodies, bloodied and mutilated, babies burned, families burned together, some with hands tied. —The Editorial Board, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2023

The Israeli military on Monday released a gruesome video, compiling footage taken from Hamas’s body cameras and social media accounts, showing its militants murdering civilians, raiding homes, mutilating bodies and dragging away hostages. —Elizabeth Dwoskin, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2023

Even now, more than a week after the attack, Israeli rescuers are still discovering and recovering bodies, many of them burned, riddled with multiple gunshots, and mutilated to the point of unrecognizability. —Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Latin mutilatus, past participle of mutilare, from mutilus truncated, maimed

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

mutilate

verb

mu·​ti·​late ˈmyüt-ᵊl-ˌāt 

mutilated; mutilating

1

: to make imperfect by cutting or altering severely : ruin

mutilate a play

2

: to cut off or destroy a necessary part (as a limb) : maim

mutilation

ˌmyüt-ᵊl-ˈā-shən 

noun

mutilator

ˈmyüt-ᵊl-ˌāt-ər 

noun

Medical Definition

mutilate

transitive verb

mu·​ti·​late ˈmyüt-ᵊl-ˌāt 

mutilated; mutilating

: to cut off or cause severe damage to a limb or essential part of

mutilate a body

also : castrate sense 1