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Glite Dictionary
to maim

to maim

35 7.0
To seriously injure someone so they lose use of a body part or have it badly damaged
  • verb
  • /meɪm/
  • NSFW
translation icon : mutilar
  • The explosion maimed several soldiers, leaving them with serious injuries that changed their lives forever.
  • killed and maimed
  • maimed and tortured
  • maimed and raped

I mean, they're not, it's not really, you know, maiming these people, right?

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Examples

  • Almost two decades of conflict have left thousands maimed, killed, displaced, or looking for safe haven in neighboring countries.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Isn't it amazing that adolescent boys still engage in primitive rituals, like maiming each other behind the gym?

    The Prankster (2010)

  • What if I get maimed?

    Death Becomes Her (1992)

  • Kent had just been maimed...

    Half-Life (2008)

  • Auto accidents... and in the background, photos of maimed, burned, injured clients.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • His good friend Georgie, maimed in a car crash, while running Daddy some errands.

    The Black Dahlia (2006)

  • Ordinary citizens were maimed, decapitated, and burned alive at an alarming rate.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Rioting flared again today in Northern Ireland following yesterday's car bombing that killed or maimed 145 shoppers.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Beside Sarah-Bell, one hundred eighty-seven pound Jim One-Toe hobbled along, deftly dragging his maimed left foot.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • In the accident, the reckless driver maimed innocent pedestrians, causing permanent damage to many of them.

Synonyms

to injure
vsto maim
640 1.0

Harm someone's body or a part of it, often by accident

is more severe and usually permanent rather than general harm
to wound
vsto maim
617 2.3

To cut or hurt someone's body physically

causes more severe permanent damage or disfigurement than a simple cut
to mutilate
vsto maim
  • NSFW
73 7.4

Damage something by cutting or removing parts so it looks ruined

causes serious lasting harm often without destroying body parts
to cripple
vsto maim
72 6.3

To cause serious harm that makes a person or thing unable to work properly

causes lasting serious harm but focuses on permanent incapacity rather than disfigurement

Antonyms

to heal
481 1.2

To become healthy again after an injury, illness, or emotional pain

How Severe

to mutilate
  • NSFW
73 7.4
to maim
  • NSFW
35 7.0
to wound
617 2.3
to hurt
∞ 1.0
bruise
266 1.6

Surface Forms

maim infinitive
maimed past
maimed past participle
maiming present participle
mains third person singular

Etymology

Maim comes from an old French word that meant 'to mutilate' or 'to make imperfect'. So to maim someone is to damage them so badly that a body part or function is often left useless or permanently changed.