mangled

adjective

man·​gled ˈmaŋ-gəld How to pronounce mangled (audio)
1
: severely injured or damaged by cutting, tearing, or crushing
a mangled foot
A special bed—a box lined with cottonwool—was made for the mangled pigeon while the Wilsons nursed it …Iain Macdonald
mangled warplanes lie strewn across the desert floor, their wings and tails torn off, their fuselages punctured.Richard Wolkomir
2
: spoiled or made incoherent
a mangled message
mangled punctuation/syntax
This is a draft manuscript waiting for an editor to impose coherence and to smooth over mangled grammar, malapropisms and political oversimplifications.Emily MacFarquhar

Examples of mangled in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Photos posted by the station showed the mangled radio tower after the crash. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 15 Oct. 2024 Thousands of trees were toppled in Helene’s fury, mangled train tracks were left discarded on river beds and school buses were blown away. Deon J. Hampton, NBC News, 5 Oct. 2024 But as of midday, utility poles and wires were still draped at odd angles across the streets, pulled down by mangled trees. Jeff Amy The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 5 Oct. 2024 Alas, the timeline has been so badly mangled that whatever potential is here is lost in a confusing adaptation that gets all the important parts wrong. Erik Kain, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mangled 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mangled.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mangled was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near mangled

Cite this Entry

“Mangled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mangled. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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