Synonyms of mangle

mangle

verb

ˈmaŋ-gəl 

as in to fumble

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way

you've mangled this so badly that we'll have to do it over

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fumble
• blow
• dub
• ruin
• botch
• butcher
• bungle
• destroy
• boot
• spoil
• murder
• boggle
• injure
• mar
• fluff
• muff
• screw up
• damage
• mutilate
• foul up
• bumble
• flub
• impair
• goof (up)
• muck up
• wreck
• bugger (up)
• foozle
• hurt
• bobble
• louse up
• muddle
• bollix (up)
• flaw
• mess (up)
• harm
• blunder
• gum (up)
• vitiate
• blight
• mismanage
• blemish
• mishandle
• piffle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improve
• better
• help
• refine
• enhance
• ameliorate
• rectify
• remedy
• reform
• patch
• repair
• fix
• meliorate
• renovate
• revamp
• recondition
• doctor

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb mangle contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mangle are batter, cripple, maim, and mutilate. While all these words mean "to injure so severely as to cause lasting damage," mangle implies a tearing or crushing that leaves deep wounds.

a soldier's leg mangled by shrapnel

When would batter be a good substitute for mangle?

Although the words batter and mangle have much in common, batter implies a series of blows that bruise deeply, deform, or mutilate.

an old ship battered by fierce storms

When could cripple be used to replace mangle?

While in some cases nearly identical to mangle, cripple implies the loss or serious impairment of an arm or leg.

crippled for life in an accident

When is maim a more appropriate choice than mangle?

The meanings of maim and mangle largely overlap; however, maim implies the loss or injury of a bodily member through violence.

maimed by a shark

Where would mutilate be a reasonable alternative to mangle?

The synonyms mutilate and mangle are sometimes interchangeable, but 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mangle

Hertz grew up skateboarding in Dogtown and then, in the evening, peeking at his dad’s slides of faces horribly burned and mangled. —Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025

McCarthy gives a great performance, playing up the press secretary’s more boorish traits as a gum-guzzling loudmouth that mangles words and twists facts like pretzels. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2025

Torrey Pines was the site of his last top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in 2020, a year before Woods badly mangled his right leg in a car crash on a coastal Los Angeles road. —Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025

The plane was found upside-down in three sections in shallow water – including the partly submerged wing and mangled fuselage. —Ray Sanchez and Chelsea Bailey, CNN, 1 Feb. 2025

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