Skip to main content
mutilation

mutilation

19 8.4
Severe injury that removes a body part or badly changes how someone looks
  • noun
  • /ˌmjuːtɪˈleɪʃən/
  • NSFW
translation icon : mutilación
  • The animal suffered severe mutilation after being caught in the trap, losing its right paw.
  • female genital mutilation
  • self-mutilation
  • female mutilation

And what I have in mind are abductions and animal mutilations.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • In January, a mother of a three-year old girl was convicted of female genital mutilation, our first FGM conviction.

  • Female genital mutilation is also illegal and carries a 14-year prison sentence.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The mutilations were caused by some kind of knife.

  • People use the term "female circumcision," but "female genital mutilation" more accurately describes what nearly two million girls go through every year.

  • Monk and Cooms are accused of the mutilation and murder of 10-year-old Daniel Lewin.

  • The documentary showed the shocking mutilation of victims during the conflict, highlighting the brutality of war.

  • He was arrested for the mutilation of historical artifacts, which caused irreversible damage to the pieces.

Synonyms

dismemberment
vsmutilation
  • Offensive
14 8.7

Cutting a person, animal, or object into pieces

is broader, meaning severe injury that can include other major body damage
disfigurement
vsmutilation
9 7.3

A visible change that makes parts of the body look damaged after injury, disease, or birth defect

is the action causing severe bodily damage rather than the lasting appearance change

How Injured

mutilation
  • NSFW
19 8.4
dismemberment
  • Offensive
14 8.7
injury
1.4
wound
971 2.2
cut
337 1.0
scratch
203 1.6

Surface Forms

mutilation singular
mutilations plural

Morphology

mutilation = mutilate (transparent) = mutilate + ation

Productive nominalization from 'mutilate'; the noun denotes the act or result (here specifically severe bodily injury).

Etymology

Mutilation comes from the old Latin verb mutilare, which means 'to maim' or 'to make imperfect', and from mutilus meaning 'maimed'. That's why mutilation today often means a severe injury to a body, for example the cutting off or loss of a limb or other important part.