mauled

American  

[mawld] / mɔld /

adjective

1. harshly treated.

   The critically mauled movie sequel has also led to countless parodies and imitations.

2. badly injured or damaged.

   In the aftermath of the fox’s visit, Robin found half her chickens missing and a badly mauled rooster inside the chicken house itself.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of maul.

Other Word Forms

• unmauled adjective

Etymology

Origin of mauled

maul ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

He treasures that trait even as he has hidden it beneath armor to avoid “being too badly mauled by the vicissitudes of life.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2025

Their pack mauled forward from a line-out and an opportunist Van Poortvliet saw a gap to sneak in.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025

Matthew, as his own son Trev would later reflect, had always “felt mauled by Aldous and burdened by his massive family legacy,” as he said in a video interview in December, 2023.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2025

In 2019, an 83-year-old homeless man was mauled by a black bear while sleeping in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2025

Cole nodded and told how he had pulled a handful of white hair from the bear that mauled him and then thrown it away.

From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen