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

That helped when global supply chains were mangled during the pandemic and could be a benefit if Canada fares better than China and other big Asian producers in President Donald Trump’s trade war with the world. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 10 July 2025

But that’s college sports leaders for you, counting on their customers to have a passion so limitless for the product, it can be mangled to no end. —Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 10 July 2025

Mamdani’s name became an issue as Cuomo several times mangled it, prompting the Assembly member to interject to ask him to work on his pronunciation. —Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 June 2025

Practicing his mandatory poses in the mirror, the chest bulging and the arms curled, the focal point is always his face, which mangles every expression, which cannot produce the pinup smile. —Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2025

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