mutilate

verb mu·ti·late \ ˈmyü-tə-ˌlāt \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: mutilate in a Sentence

Definition of mutilate

mutilated; mutilating

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 permanently destroy a limb or essential part of : cripple

His arm was mutilated in the accident.

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mutilation

play \ˌmyü-tə-ˈlā-shən\ noun

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mutilator

play \ˈmyü-tə-ˌlā-tər\ noun

See mutilate defined for English-language learners

See mutilate defined for kids

Examples of mutilate in a Sentence

a painting mutilated by vandals
was lucky not to be mutilated in the car crash

Recent Examples of mutilate from the Web

Investigators in Washington County are searching for a suspect in a gruesome animal cruelty case after a family's pet cat was found mutilated on a neighbor's lawn Sunday afternoon.

— kale williams, OregonLive.com, "Cat found decapitated in Washington County, cops search for suspect," 27 May 2018
Cases of people suffering from schizophrenia self mutilating the tongue, lips and other body parts have often been reported in medical literature.

— jayne o'donnell, USA TODAY, "His 911 call as 'Jesus Christ' went viral after Pizza Hut break-in; story since is tragic," 10 May 2018
Placards were banned, so the marchers pulled up their shirts to expose pictures taped to their bodies of people tortured, mutilated or murdered by the government.

— The Economist, "Repression is worsening in Cameroon amid an uprising over language," 31 May 2018
Lasagna, often mutilated, rarely duplicated, has her honor defended too.

— carla ciccone, Bon Appetit, "The “Italians Mad at Food” Twitter Account Is Too Real to My Life," 7 May 2018
Unlike Assad’s typical war crimes, the alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma produced dead bodies that weren’t too mutilated to be aired extensively on American cable news channels.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Officials Confirm That Trump Bombed Syria to Validate His Tweets," 18 Apr. 2018
The father’s dog, a 75 pound Pitbull mix, was found mutilated in a bedroom.

— madeleine marr, miamiherald, "He attacked his father with a knife, cops say. Then they looked in the fridge. | Miami Herald," 19 Mar. 2018
Van Hook strangled, stabbed and mutilated David Self in Self's apartment in 1985 after meeting him at a Cincinnati bar frequented by homosexuals.

— dan horn, Cincinnati.com, "Why is a murder trial here so much more likely to end with a death sentence?," 14 Feb. 2018
Ted Bundy mutilated and murdered perhaps more than 30 young women in the 1970s.

— jan hoffman, New York Times, "Do Serial Killers Just Stop? Yes, Sometimes," 26 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mutilate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of mutilate

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1534

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

mutilate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of mutilate

maim, cripple, mutilate, batter, mangle mean to injure so severely as to cause lasting damage. maim implies the loss or injury of a bodily member through violence.