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

Kepu Tuipulotu mauled over to make it a five-point game and while Fin Smith's boot kept the visitors just about ahead, a wave of pressure made a Bath score feel inevitable.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

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

The Slovak cabinet has approved a plan to shoot around a quarter of the country's brown bears, after a man was mauled to death while walking in a forest in Central Slovakia.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2025

That was the Rams’ lost season, the worst Super Bowl hangover in NFL history, that had begun with a 31-10 wipeout by the Bills and featured Stafford getting mauled seven times for sacks.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2024

I thought he would write Everyone turned out okay, but when he passed the book back, he'd actually written, Everyone was mauled by a bear, it was very sad, let’s go get ice cream.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse