mutilate

verb

ˈmyü-tə-ˌlāt How to pronounce mutilate (audio)
Definition of mutilatenext
as in to cripple
to cause severe or permanent injury to was lucky not to be mutilated in the car crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb mutilate contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mutilate are batter, cripple, maim, and mangle. While all these words mean "to injure so severely as to cause lasting damage," mutilate implies the cutting off or removal of an essential part of a person or thing thereby impairing its completeness, beauty, or function.

a tree mutilated by inept pruning

Where would batter be a reasonable alternative to mutilate?

Although the words batter and mutilate have much in common, batter implies a series of blows that bruise deeply, deform, or mutilate.

an old ship battered by fierce storms

When is cripple a more appropriate choice than mutilate?

The words cripple and mutilate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cripple implies the loss or serious impairment of an arm or leg.

crippled for life in an accident

When can maim be used instead of mutilate?

The meanings of maim and mutilate largely overlap; however, maim implies the loss or injury of a bodily member through violence.

maimed by a shark

When could mangle be used to replace mutilate?

While in some cases nearly identical to mutilate, mangle implies a tearing or crushing that leaves deep wounds.

a soldier's leg mangled by shrapnel

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mutilate The victims in Louisiana and Florida were all stabbed, with some mutilated and several appeared posed suggestively. —Corin Cesaric, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026 The murderers followed them to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and proceeded to kill and mutilate them, too. —Literary Hub, 26 May 2026 Ravelo was the leader and organizer of invitation-only internet groups dedicated to the sharing and discussion of videos depicting monkeys being mutilated and tortured, the DOJ said in a statement. —Sofia Saric may 24, Miami Herald, 24 May 2026 Short’s body was found on January 15, 1947 in the Leimert Park neighborhood; it had been severely mutilated and drained of blood. —Peter White, Deadline, 19 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for mutilate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mutilate
  1. cripple
  2. incapacitate
  3. injure
  4. maim
  5. wound
  6. disable
  7. kill
  8. scar
Verb
  • The fall broke both his legs, crippling him.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 14 June 2026
  • However, thanks to this unconventional build, Argus can traverse a wide range of terrains, move with equal ease in almost any direction, and shrug off damage that would cripple many robots.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 June 2026
Definition of cripple
Verb
  • The lieutenant governor assumes the top job if the governor is incapacitated or dies.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026
  • For example, if mom's alive but incapacitated, the heir legally owns nothing and has zero rights to manage the house.
    — Medora Lee, USA Today, 3 June 2026
Definition of incapacitate
Verb
  • Police did not reveal the identities of the six on board or the condition of those injured.
    — Diego Mendoza, CNN Money, 17 June 2026
  • One person was killed and another was injured Tuesday by a shooter at a Delaware hospital who remains at large, police said.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 17 June 2026
Definition of injure
Verb
  • The teenager was arrested for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal -- horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, authorities said.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 4 June 2026
  • She was booked on a dozen counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal, horse, and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, police said in a press release.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
Definition of maim
Verb
  • At least four people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in the attack on the city, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.
    — Victoria Butenko, CNN Money, 15 June 2026
  • Three people were killed and six others wounded ⁠in the strike, which targeted an apartment in Dahiyeh, Lebanon’s Civil Defense Ministry said.
    — NBC News, NBC news, 14 June 2026
Definition of wound
Verb
  • According to the complaint, deputies observed multiple cameras outside the unit and believed them to have been installed by O'Brien, so deputies began to disable them.
    — WCCO Staff, CBS News, 17 June 2026
  • Anthropic responded by disabling the models for all customers; the company said the order applied to any foreign national, whether inside the country or not, including those who are Anthropic employees.
    — Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 16 June 2026
Definition of disable
Verb
  • The office said on July 14, 2022, without lawful justification and with intent to kill, Quinones-Herstad stabbed Gonzalez-Alarcon, 55, multiple times with a knife, killing her.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Then in 1999, alleging that related terrorist bombings had continued, Russia again invaded in a second war that would flatten capital city Grozny and kill thousands more people.
    — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 11 Dec. 2025
Definition of kill
Verb
  • The incident would live on in the national consciousness and permanently scar Exxon’s reputation.
    — Alex Kuffner, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Instead of rigid probes that scar the brain, the porous, ultraflexible meshes were built to match the softness of cells and move with them.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Mar. 2026
Definition of scar

Browse Nearby Words

mutes
mutilate
mutilated
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Cite this Entry

“Mutilate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mutilate. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on mutilate

Nglish: Translation of mutilate for Spanish Speakers

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