mutilate

American

[myoot-l-eyt] / ˈmyut lˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

mutilated, mutilating

to injure, disfigure, or make imperfect by removing or irreparably damaging parts.

Vandals mutilated the painting.

Synonyms:

cripple, mar, damage
to deprive (a person or animal) of a limb or other essential part.

mutilate British

/ ˈmjuːtɪˌleɪt /

verb

to deprive of a limb, essential part, etc; maim; dismember
to mar, expurgate, or damage (a text, book, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See maim.

Other Word Forms

mutilation noun
mutilative adjective
mutilator noun
mutilatory adjective
self-mutilating adjective
self-mutilation noun
unmutilated adjective
unmutilative adjective

Etymology

Origin of mutilate

1525–35; from Latin mutilātus (past participle of mutilāre “to cut off, maim”), equivalent to mutil(us) “maimed, mutilated” + -ātus -ate ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023