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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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
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Family members said Villalobos’ face had been mutilated and he was identified, in part, by a tattoo on his arm.
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Text and photographs had been removed from the sign, similar to the destruction of another sign by the river where Till’s lynched, mutilated body was found.
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The cover, by Chaykin, features a Pakistani man hanging by a noose, with his genitalia exposed and mutilated, and a name badge pinned to his chest bearing a racial epithet.
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Bryant's husband and another man allegedly abducted the 14-year-old, beat and mutilated him, tied him to a 75-pound cotton gin fan and threw him in the Tallahatchie River.
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At least two pregnant women were sliced open and their fetuses mutilated.
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India’s batting lineup, evoking a gruesome, highly sensitive issue in which India has accused Pakistan of mutilating and beheading the corpses of Indian border troops.
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A 13-year-old city boy was arrested Monday shortly after someone posted a gruesome video to Facebook showing him killing and mutilating a rabbit, police said.
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The damage caused by the processes of extraction fans out across most of a hemisphere, mutilating lives, human communities and natural ecosystems beyond ready numbering.
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
Synonym Discussion of mutilate
MUTILATE Defined for English Language Learners
mutilate
playDefinition of mutilate for English Language Learners
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: to cause severe damage to (the body of a person or animal)
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: to ruin the beauty of (something) : to severely damage or spoil (something)
MUTILATE Defined for Kids
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about mutilate
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See words that rhyme with mutilate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mutilate Spanish Central: Translation of mutilate Nglish: Translation of mutilate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mutilate for Arabic speakers
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