to mutilate

Examples

• All

• In 1965, Congress made it a crime to mutilate the certificate.

  Academic text (2008)

• Now suppose I mutilate the board by taking out two tiles.

  Robinson Erhardt

• You may now begin to mutilate your flatworms.

  Joy of Sex (1984)

• The man was so badly burned and mutilated that the doctor had no hope for his recovery.

  Academic text (2002)

• The novel begins with the discovery of the mutilated cadaver of a young Air Force pilot.

  Academic text (2000)

• Einstein came to regret that he had needlessly mutilated his original theory.

  Academic text (2005)

• Protruding from the thin flow, I saw broken bricks, a mutilated shopping cart, and somebody's shoe.

  Fiction book (1995)

• The artist decided to mutilate the canvas by tearing it in several places to express her anger.

• After the accident, the car was so mutilated that it was unrecognizable.

• The extreme weather conditions can mutilate buildings, leaving them damaged and unsightly.

Synonyms

D

to damage

vsto mutilate

885 1.4

To harm something so it becomes less useful, valuable, or healthy

means a far more severe harm that ruins shape and identity

S

to shred

vsto mutilate

112 2.6

To tear something into small thin pieces

refers to broader destruction that makes the object hard to recognise

R

to ravage

vsto mutilate

73 6.6

To damage a place or thing very badly

is more about severe ruin focused on appearance or identity loss

C

to cut up

vsto mutilate

62 4.1

Cause serious harm to people or things with a sharp object

emphasises thorough ruin or disfigurement beyond mere cutting damage

D

to distort

vsto mutilate

59 4.3

To change the shape of something so it is no longer normal

implies harsher destruction that makes the object unrecognisable

D

to deform

vsto mutilate

59 4.8

To change a thing's normal shape so it becomes bent or twisted

goes further to destroy or deface so it is hard to recognise

M

to maim

vsto mutilate

• NSFW

35 7.0

To seriously injure someone so they lose use of a body part or have it badly damaged

focuses on ruining appearance or form, not only life-changing injury

D

to disfigure

vsto mutilate

31 5.8

Spoil the appearance of a person or thing by damaging it

involves more extreme change often removing parts or ruining identity

D

to deface

vsto mutilate

29 5.8

Damage the surface of something by writing, scratching, or painting it

involves deeper or more destructive alteration beyond surface damage

M

to mangle

vsto mutilate

• NSFW

21 6.1

To badly cut, tear, or crush and cause a serious physical injury

damages so badly that it becomes ruined or hard to recognize

D

to dismember

vsto mutilate

• Offensive

9 9.0

To divide something into parts, often breaking a company or country

breaks or spoils so badly that the whole is ruined or unrecognisable

D

to do a job on

vsto mutilate

• UK

3 7.7

Damage or spoil something badly

stresses extreme change or disfigurement that makes recognition difficult

M

to mar

vsto mutilate

2 5.3

To damage how something looks or its quality

means a more extreme, often mutilating change rather than slight spoilage

U

to uglify

vsto mutilate

8.5

Make something look bad and spoil its appearance

describes a much stronger, often physically destructive alteration

Antonyms

P

to preserve

496 3.4

To keep people and things safe from harm or change

Idioms

M

to mutilate one's chances

8.2

To greatly reduce your chances of success

Phrasal Verbs

G

to genitally mutilate

• Offensive

9.9

To cut or injure a person's private parts without their permission

M

to mutilate evidence

8.9

To destroy evidence on purpose to stop a police investigation

How Damaged

to destroy

∞ 1.0

to mutilate

• NSFW

73 7.4

to damage

885 1.4

scratch

203 1.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology