as in crippling
to cause severe or permanent injury to
was lucky not to be mutilated in the car crash
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Recent Examples of mutilating
Nationwide, the first successful prosecution happened in 2016 when a Houston man was sentenced to five years for creating videos that featured a woman mutilating and killing puppies, chickens and kittens and distributing them on the internet.
—
Jay Weaver, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2026
The four criminal counts include making false statements, conspiring to obstruct justice, and altering, destroying, mutilating or concealing an object from an official proceeding.
—Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
We, the jury find the defendant Maxwell Anderson guilty of first degree, intentional homicide … Guilty of mutilating a corpse.
—Lauren A. White, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2026
Nationwide, the first successful prosecution happened in 2016 when a Houston man was sentenced to five years for creating videos that featured a woman mutilating and killing puppies, chickens and kittens and distributing them on the internet.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
The Times reported that Benkired lured Lola to her apartment before raping her, mutilating her and eventually fatally suffocating her with duct tape.
—Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Koch was never convicted of mutilating the corpses of the people who were murdered in Buchenwald; though some gruesome items were discovered there, there was no proof that they were connected to her.
—Elizabeth Yuko, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
According to the Statesman Journal, Brudos admitted to mutilating the bodies of his victims.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
More than 3,000 Hamas fighters gunned down civilians, torturing and mutilating some of them in their own homes, still in their pajamas.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Jay Weaver, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2026
The four criminal counts include making false statements, conspiring to obstruct justice, and altering, destroying, mutilating or concealing an object from an official proceeding.
—Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026
We, the jury find the defendant Maxwell Anderson guilty of first degree, intentional homicide … Guilty of mutilating a corpse.
—Lauren A. White, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2026
Nationwide, the first successful prosecution happened in 2016 when a Houston man was sentenced to five years for creating videos that featured a woman mutilating and killing puppies, chickens and kittens and distributing them on the internet.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
The Times reported that Benkired lured Lola to her apartment before raping her, mutilating her and eventually fatally suffocating her with duct tape.
—Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Koch was never convicted of mutilating the corpses of the people who were murdered in Buchenwald; though some gruesome items were discovered there, there was no proof that they were connected to her.
—Elizabeth Yuko, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
According to the Statesman Journal, Brudos admitted to mutilating the bodies of his victims.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
More than 3,000 Hamas fighters gunned down civilians, torturing and mutilating some of them in their own homes, still in their pajamas.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mutilating
Verb
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Perched between China and India, the country of 30 million people has been plagued for decades by political instability, crippling a largely agrarian economy and worsening unemployment – structural issues compounded by rampant corruption.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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So, in June last year, the president seized the moment by crippling Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Larter's Angela has been put through the wringer on the second season of Landman, from getting into an explosive battle with Thornton's Tommy over her period to getting arrested for incapacitating two health inspectors during a visit to her local nursing home.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Jan. 2026
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Dysentery and scurvy ravaged the vessel, killing or incapacitating many on board.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Kelly’s debut romps with the animal, real and imagined, exploring love and wounding through the animal-nature of our feelings, the precarious past and present of our human lives.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
7 Mar. 2026
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Another strike hit the eastern city of Baalbek, killing six people and wounding 15, according to state media.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Over the course of just one minute, the gunman sailed down the city’s bustling Sixth Street and then exited his car, firing off even more bullets, ultimately killing three people and injuring 13 others before he was fatally shot by police.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
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In Skokie, an Iranian-American can’t get through to communicate with his father in Iran after a bomb fell in the father’s neighborhood, injuring him.—
Claire Murphy,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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For nearly half a century, Iran has been a thorn in the side of the United States, killing and maiming American soldiers, butchering Israeli citizens, threatening its neighbors and fostering terror around the globe.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
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If fentanyl production or the existence of a Jefferson Davis statue can be legally deemed public nuisances, why can’t a deluge of violent, masked, and armed people flooding the streets of a city, maiming, brutalizing, and even killing along the way?—
Aziz Huq,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Knuckling under the pressure to do something about this, Congress eventually passed a law that essentially denied such benefits to anyone whose only disabling condition was drug addiction or alcoholism.—
Tom Margenau,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Mar. 2026
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Even if the rates of death and disabling disease remain roughly the same, as case numbers grow, so too will the absolute amount of suffering.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, damaging winds and hail are expected across parts of Ohio on Saturday as a cold front moves through the region.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Mar. 2026
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This will help protect them from a later cold snap damaging the fresh, new growth.—
Wayne Hobbs,
Florida Times-Union,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The latest Middle East conflict continues spiraling days after Israel and the US launched their joint operation on Iran, killing more than 1,000 people, triggering retaliatory strikes on Israel and neighboring Gulf states and plunging the region into fear and uncertainty.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
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Video of a barricade situation in Baltimore County is gaining attention and giving a closer look at what led to police shooting and killing a man inside his home on Wednesday night.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mutilating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mutilating. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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