mutilate Hear it!

mutilate Definition

mu·ti·late (myo̵̅o̅t'l āt′)

transitive verb -·lat′ed, -·lat′·ing

  1. to cut off or damage a limb or other important part of (a person or animal)
  2. to damage, injure, or otherwise mar, esp. by removing an essential part or parts to mutilate a book by censorship

Etymology: < L mutilatus, pp. of mutilare, to maim, mutilate < mutilus, maimed; akin to Ir mut, short

mutilate Related Forms

mu′·ti·la·tion noun mu·ti·la′·tive adjective mu·ti·la′·tor noun

mutilate Synonyms

mutilate

v.

  1. To maim

    disfigure, dismember, mangle, cut off, cut up; see also maim, mangle 1.

  2. To damage

    mar, deface, slash; see damage 1, hurt 1, mangle 1. See syn. study at maim.

mutilate Usage Examples

Object

  • effigy: The old church, which was much larger, contained the mutilated effigy of a man in armor, with his sword sheathed.
  • corps: How could a God who smiled at those mutilated corpses in Omagh be a loving God?
  • corpse: In the morning they found her mutilated corpse in a ditch with her breasts cut off.
  • body: From there came his mutilated body, shot all over.
  • cattle: These critters abduct humans, mutilate cattle and invade our skies with impunity.
  • victim: Other cases might occur in medico-legal investigations, as when the hands only of some mutilated victim were found.

Preposition: at

  • end: That Mark is mutilated at the end is one of the most certain results of textual criticism.
  • beginning: Spitta and others have held that Mark has been mutilated at the beginning, as at the end.

Adjective complement

English: Then he noticed a suggestion of mutilated English about certain of the words.

Modifying Another Word

  • horribly: They are all human victims who die or are mutilated horribly for no good cause.
  • surgically: That animals are deliberately poisoned, surgically mutilated, deprived of food and water is bad enough.
  • terribly: This cannot have been a pleasant task, for some of the bodies were terribly mutilated.
  • badly: A body that had been too badly mutilated for positive identification had been dragged out of the river Avon.
  • sadly: Our other messmate suffered still more than the Swede; he was sadly mutilated about the legs and thighs with splinters.
  • severely: This included animals which had been blinded, severely mutilated, or with open wounds.

Preposition: beyond

recognition: KR: Never mind my son, your body may be mutilated beyond recognition but your spirit will live forever.

Preposition: in

way: Their bodies are split or mutilated in some way reflecting their sin.

Infinitive complement

  • make: MULDER: So you're saying he was drowned first and then mutilated to make it look like a signature execution?
  • suit: No; all the kingdoms of the earth shall be hacked about and mutilated to suit her.

Preposition: for

life: Some of the survivors of attacks have been mutilated for life.

Browse dictionary entries near mutilate

  1. muticous
  2. Mutex
  3. mute swan
  4. mute
  5. mutchkin
  6. mutative
  7. mutatis mutandis
  8. mutation
  9. mutate
  10. mutant
  1. mutilated
  2. mutineer
  3. mutinous
  4. mutiny
  5. mutism
  6. muton
  7. Mutsuhito
  8. mutt
  9. mutter
  10. mutton