Synonym Chooser

How does the verb mutilate contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mutilate are batter, cripple, maim, and mangle. While all these words mean "to injure so severely as to cause lasting damage," 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

Where would batter be a reasonable alternative to mutilate?

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

an old ship battered by fierce storms

When is cripple a more appropriate choice than mutilate?

The words cripple and mutilate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cripple implies the loss or serious impairment of an arm or leg.

crippled for life in an accident

When can maim be used instead of mutilate?

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

maimed by a shark

When could mangle be used to replace mutilate?

While in some cases nearly identical to mutilate, mangle implies a tearing or crushing that leaves deep wounds.

a soldier's leg mangled by shrapnel

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 mutilate Authorities discovered Worden’s body — decapitated, mutilated and hung upside down like a deer in the barn — but that was just the beginning. Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025 He was arrested in November 1957 after the body of local hardware store owner and shopkeeper Bernice Worden, 58, was found hanging from hooks and mutilated in his shed. Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025 The videos, which were shared online, showed baby monkeys being crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled and mutilated. Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2025 Arturo Holmes/Getty Images The body found inside the Tesla had been mutilated and heavily decomposed, law enforcement sources told TMZ. Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mutilate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mutilate
Verb
  • On December 7, 1941, 353 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 Americans and crippling much of the Pacific Fleet.
    Big Think, Big Think, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Sanctions have crippled the government’s primary source of revenue, oil exports, limiting the state’s ability to provide for millions of impoverished Iranians through social safety nets.
    Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • He is accused of slipping incapacitating drugs into victims’ food or drinks before assaulting them between 2021 and 2024.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025
  • In still other situations, lapses in common knowledge can incapacitate people who really, really need to work together.
    Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • From January to June, more than 3,100 people were reported killed across Haiti and an additional 1,100 reported injured, according to the United Nations.
    NPR, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Ten minutes later, Martinelli actually scored after making a good run in behind from the right wing as Saka had gone off injured.
    Art de Roché, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • By holding a button, a simple katana suddenly becomes a 10-foot blade, or a rapier sprouts a demolition-grade power drill — all capable of viscerally dismembering and maiming foes.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2025
  • There is little hope among Palestinians that anybody will be held responsible for the tens of thousands of innocent civilians killed by Israeli fire, along with those maimed in attacks.
    Matt Bradley, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Additional fighting between troops and militants apparently broke out in a second area in Pakistan’s Orakzai district to the north, where Islamabad said six Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed and two security officials were wounded.
    Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The mayor's appearance came a day after a shooting near the CityBird restaurant on Fountain Square that wounded two people, prompting discussions about ongoing violence in Cincinnati's urban core.
    Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • It is associated with hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impair daily functioning and can be disabling.
    Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Some of these technologies are essential for ensuring the proper functioning of the service or website and cannot be disabled, while others are optional but serve to enhance the user experience in various ways.
    Eric Torres, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Four people were killed and another four were injured in two head-on collisions on Arkansas roads Friday and Saturday, according to preliminary police reports.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Listeria infects 1,250 people in the United States each year, according to the CDC, and kills about 172.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The approval followed results from a large phase 3 study (ESSENCE), in which weekly semaglutide led to improvements in liver inflammation without worsening scarring, as confirmed by biopsy.
    Becky Upham, EverydayHealth.com, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Its insularity has shielded it from the reckless overdevelopment that has scarred much of the nearby Costa Blanca.
    Miquel Ros, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mutilate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mutilate. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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