mutilate

[ myoot-l-eyt ]

/ ˈmyut lˌeɪt /

verb (used with object), mu·ti·lat·ed, mu·ti·lat·ing.

to injure, disfigure, or make imperfect by removing or irreparably damaging parts: Vandals mutilated the painting.

to deprive (a person or animal) of a limb or other essential part.

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Origin of mutilate

1525–35; < Latin mutilātus (past participle of mutilāre to cut off, maim), equivalent to mutil(us) maimed, mutilated + -ātus -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR mutilate

1 damage, mar, cripple.

2 See maim.

OTHER WORDS FROM mutilate

mu·ti·la·tion, nounmu·ti·la·tive, mu·ti·la·to·ry

[myoot-l-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈmyut l əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivemu·ti·la·tor, nounself-mu·ti·lat·ing, adjective

self-mu·ti·la·tion, nounun·mu·ti·lat·ed, adjectiveun·mu·ti·la·tive, adjective

Words nearby mutilate

muted, mutein, mutha, muti, muticous, mutilate, mutilating keratoderma, mutilation, mutineer, mutinous, mutiny

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for self-mutilation

The pine-tree appears in the myth as the tree under which Attis committed his act of self-mutilation.
The Origin of Paul's Religion|J. Gresham Machen
Sometimes the animal throws off an arm to escape capture, and self-mutilation also occurs where unfavorable conditions exist.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide|Augusta Foote Arnold
Punishments for self-mutilation are the order of the day, and innumerable men are being severely punished.
A German deserter's war experience|Anonymous
It is the marring of the divine image, the ruin of the glorious temple, the self-mutilation and suicide of the immortal soul.
The World's Great Sermons, Volume 9: Cuyler to Van Dyke|Various

They could reach their position only by pledging and keeping up unceasing and awful self-deprivation and self-mutilation.
The Spanish Pioneers|Charles F. Lummis

British Dictionary definitions for self-mutilation (1 of 2)

self-mutilation

noun

the act or an instance of mutilating oneself

British Dictionary definitions for self-mutilation (2 of 2)

mutilate

/ (ˈmjuːtɪˌleɪt) /

verb (tr)

to deprive of a limb, essential part, etc; maim; dismember

to mar, expurgate, or damage (a text, book, etc)

Derived forms of mutilate

mutilation, nounmutilative, adjectivemutilator, noun

Word Origin for mutilate

C16: from Latin mutilāre to cut off; related to mutilus maimed

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