as in to sever
medical
to remove (part of a person's body)
His arm was badly injured and had to be amputated.
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Recent Examples of amputate
The concerned Langdon finds that the patient survived, but had a portion of her leg amputated.
—
Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2026
In a particularly gnarly flashback, one sibling voluntarily — and crudely — amputates his fingers to match his brother's disfigured hand, which lost two digits when Angier shot him.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
The 49ers Hall of Fame safety had his pinkie mangled on a tackle during a game in 1985, and played with a splint before having the digit amputated after the season.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026
Adair was previously advised to have his leg amputated.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for amputate
Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2026
In a particularly gnarly flashback, one sibling voluntarily — and crudely — amputates his fingers to match his brother's disfigured hand, which lost two digits when Angier shot him.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
The 49ers Hall of Fame safety had his pinkie mangled on a tackle during a game in 1985, and played with a splint before having the digit amputated after the season.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026
Adair was previously advised to have his leg amputated.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for amputate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for amputate
Verb
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Airports themselves, liminal spaces that, normally, are pleasantly severed from the lurches of the world, spun out, too.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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The instructor sustained a double fracture on one leg, the outlet reported, while Pethke's leg was severed.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
Verb
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Now, the Sentinel has learned, Florida is taking an inconsistent approach to cleaning up its mess, yanking the licenses of 47 nurses who attended schools cited by the FBI but allowing others to keep working, even when it has been alerted to their shortcomings.—
Annie Martin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
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On Tuesday, Carr tweeted that the FCC was wrong to yank an $886 million broadband-buildout award from SpaceX in 2022 on the grounds that Starlink could not meet speed requirements throughout its service areas and would cost too much.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Amputate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/amputate. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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