mutilate
verb
mu·ti·late ˈmyü-tə-ˌlāt 
mutilated; mutilating
transitive verb
1
: to cut up or alter radically so as to make imperfect
the child mutilated the book with his scissors
a painting mutilated by vandals
2
: to cut off or permanently destroy a limb or essential part of : cripple
His arm was mutilated in the accident.
mutilator
ˈmyü-tə-ˌlā-tər
noun 
Synonyms
- cripple
- disable
- incapacitate
- lame
- maim
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a painting mutilated by vandals was lucky not to be mutilated in the car crash
Recent Examples on the Web An escaped asylum patient in a white mask stalks a quiet, unsuspecting suburb prowling for teenagers to mutilate. 
Gem Seddon, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2021 The director, Italian filmmaker Romano Scavolini, molds what little there is of a plot around a murderer who is subjected to a medical procedure that seemingly increases his desire to mutilate and kill. Gem Seddon, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2021 The saloon owner would romance the women and then kill them and mutilate their bodies, a 1981 story in the San Antonio Light said. Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 27 Sep. 2021 Baugh, according to the report, did not alter or mutilate official records or documents because county employees created a new pool. Paul P. Murphy, CNN, 29 June 2021 Even if the laws are circumvented, this gambit would mutilate constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection. Steve Chapman, chicagotribune.com, 13 Nov. 2020 Pictures of Escamilla’s mutilated body were leaked and widely circulated, causing outrage on social media. Lorena Rios, Bloomberg.com, 11 Feb. 2020 Hundreds of thousands of ordinary servicemen, and some women, were killed or mutilated at the Somme and Ypres; because they were recruited together, entire villages, households, and families were decimated in a single day. Charlotte Mendelson, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2019 Till, a black 14-year-old, was murdered and mutilated by white men in Mississippi in 1955 after having been falsely accused of flirting with a white woman. Steven Litt, cleveland, 24 Nov. 2019 See More
Gem Seddon, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2021 The director, Italian filmmaker Romano Scavolini, molds what little there is of a plot around a murderer who is subjected to a medical procedure that seemingly increases his desire to mutilate and kill. Gem Seddon, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2021 The saloon owner would romance the women and then kill them and mutilate their bodies, a 1981 story in the San Antonio Light said. Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 27 Sep. 2021 Baugh, according to the report, did not alter or mutilate official records or documents because county employees created a new pool. Paul P. Murphy, CNN, 29 June 2021 Even if the laws are circumvented, this gambit would mutilate constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection. Steve Chapman, chicagotribune.com, 13 Nov. 2020 Pictures of Escamilla’s mutilated body were leaked and widely circulated, causing outrage on social media. Lorena Rios, Bloomberg.com, 11 Feb. 2020 Hundreds of thousands of ordinary servicemen, and some women, were killed or mutilated at the Somme and Ypres; because they were recruited together, entire villages, households, and families were decimated in a single day. Charlotte Mendelson, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2019 Till, a black 14-year-old, was murdered and mutilated by white men in Mississippi in 1955 after having been falsely accused of flirting with a white woman. Steven Litt, cleveland, 24 Nov. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin mutilatus, past participle of mutilare, from mutilus truncated, maimed
First Known Use
1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
mutilate
verb
mu·ti·late ˈmyü-tə-ˌlāt
mutilated; mutilating
1
: to destroy or cut off a necessary part (as a limb) : maim
2
: to ruin by damaging or changing
He mutilated the book with a scissors.
The actors mutilated the play.
Medical Definition
mutilate
transitive verb
mu·ti·late ˈmyüt-ᵊl-ˌāt
mutilated; mutilating
: to cut off or permanently destroy a limb or essential part of
mutilate a body
also : castrate sense 1
mutilated 1 of 2
adjective
as in maimed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- maimed
- crippled
- disabled
- challenged
- paralyzed
- impaired
- incapacitated
- hobbled
- paralytic
- lame
- halt
- lamed
- debilitated
- feeble
- decrepit
- infirm
- enfeebled
- hamstrung
- weakened
- paraplegic
- quadriplegic
- wasted
- weak
- hemiplegic
- paretic
- frail
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- able-bodied
- whole
- healthy
- well
- sound
- fit
- robust
- hale
- hearty
mutilated
2 of 2verb
as in crippled
to cause severe or permanent injury to was lucky not to be mutilated in the car crash Synonyms & Similar Words
- crippled
- incapacitated
- wounded
- maimed
- scarred
- damaged
- injured
- bruised
- disabled
- killed
- lamed
- dismembered
- hurt
- disfigured
- mangled
- paralyzed
- battered
- mauled
- lacerated
- murdered
- tortured
- impaired
- hit
- hamstrung
- harmed
- hobbled
- gored
- smashed
- winged
- licked
- beat
- bludgeoned
- pummeled
- pasted
- tormented
- punched
- bashed
- whipped
- whacked
- slapped
- banged
- thrashed
- pounded
- smacked
- buffeted
- flogged
- boxed
- hammered
- thwacked
- lashed
- spanked
- kneecapped
- thumped
- bunged up
- pelted
- pummelled
- swiped
- laced
- belted
- socked
- swatted
- lambasted
- pommeled
- pommelled
- broke
- drubbed
- roughed (up)
- walloped
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rehabilitated
- healed
- cured
- fixed
- repaired
- restored
- remedied
- doctored
- mended
- renewed
- patched
- rejuvenated