Meaning & use
mutilate
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To badly injure or disfigure a body by cutting off or damaging a part of it.
Grammar: Takes an object, often passive: the body was mutilated.
Patterns
- mutilate someone
- be mutilated by something
The machine mutilated his hand in the accident.
Police found that the animal had been mutilated.
Soldiers were forbidden to mutilate prisoners.
verbtransitivefigurative
To spoil something by cutting or changing it so much that it loses its original form or value.
Grammar: Used figuratively for things such as texts and paintings.
Patterns
- mutilate something
The editor mutilated my article until the point was gone.
Someone had mutilated the old painting with a knife.
The translation mutilated the poem's rhythm.
Word forms
| third person singular | mutilates |
|---|---|
| past tense | mutilated |
| past participle | mutilated |
| -ing form | mutilating |
Common combinations
- mutilate a body
- The attacker was accused of mutilating the body.
- badly mutilated
- The statue was badly mutilated during the riot.
- mutilate a text
- The censor mutilated the text beyond recognition.
- mutilate the truth
- The report mutilates the truth.
- deliberately mutilate
- Vandals deliberately mutilated the trees.
Synonyms and how they differ
- maim
- Maim means to injure so badly that someone is permanently disabled, and it is used almost only for living beings.
- disfigure
- Disfigure focuses on spoiling the appearance and is a weaker word than mutilate.
- mangle
- Mangle suggests crushing or tearing something into a shapeless mess, and is common for objects.
- deface
- Deface means spoiling the surface of something such as a wall or poster and is not used for bodies.
Opposites
Word family
- mutilation noun
- the act of mutilating
- mutilated adjective
- badly damaged
- mutilator noun
- a person who mutilates
- mutilating adjective
- causing severe damage
Commonly confused: mutilate or mutate?
mutilate vs mutate
Mutate means to change in form, often genetically, but it does not involve cutting or injury.
Practice
Which situation best fits the verb mutilate?
Choose one answer.
Mutilate describes severe damage that destroys form, such as slashing a portrait. A small scratch or erased mark is too minor.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mutilate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.