Mutilate
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Something that has been mutilated.
- 1 To physically harm as to impair use, notably by cutting off or otherwise disabling a vital part, such as a limb.
"mutilated currency"
- 2 destroy or injure severely wordnet
- 3 To destroy beyond recognition.
- 4 damage or injure severely wordnet
- 5 To render imperfect or defective. figuratively
"For two reasons then it is right to be content with that which happens to thee; the one, because it was done for thee and prescribed for thee, and in a manner had reference to thee, originally from the most ancient causes spun with thy destiny; and the other, because even that which comes severally to every man is to the power which administers the universe a cause of felicity and perfection, nay even of its very continuance. For the integrity of the whole is mutilated, if thou cuttest off anything whatever from the conjunction and the continuity either of the parts or of the causes. And thou dost cut off, as far as it is in thy power, when thou art dissatisfied, and in a manner triest to put anything out of the way."
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- 6 alter so as to make unrecognizable wordnet
- 1 Deprived of, or having lost, an important part; mutilated. not-comparable, obsolete
"mutilate and semi-bodies"
- 2 Having fin-like appendages or flukes instead of legs, like a cetacean does. archaic, not-comparable
Example
More examples"Little old lady got mutilated late last night Werewolves of London again."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin mutilātus, the perfect passive participle of mutilō (“to mutilate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), itself from mutilus (“maimed”).
Related phrases
More for "mutilate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.