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amputate

verb

Definition of amputatenext
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of amputate In Cohen's case, his distal femur bone was amputated, and his tibia bone was rotated 180 degrees and fused with what remained of his femur. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026 Yevhenii Lakhnenko, a 46-year-old army serviceman who had his right arm and left leg amputated after being wounded last October, said swimming had been central to his recovery. — ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026 After several months of treatment, zoo officials said the decision was made to amputate Crimson’s leg. — Jasmine Mendez follow, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Eventually, gangrene set in and part of his foot had to be amputated. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for amputate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for amputate
  1. sever
  2. yank
Verb
  • King Charles, however, is apparently eager to sever ties with them soon rather than later.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But officials discovered that the backup fiber-optic cable had also been severed during railroad construction in New Jersey.
    — Bailey Berg, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of sever
Verb
  • The catch is that the number of neutrons in the universe plummeted during the game, like chairs being yanked out of line.
    — Cara Giovanetti, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
  • However, multiple lab-wide reorganizations after NASA yanked its flagship Mars project increased the overhead for other projects like GRACE-Continuity.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of yank

Browse Nearby Words

amp (up)
amputate
amputated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Amputate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/amputate. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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