gutted

Adjective

gutted (comparative more gutted, superlative most gutted)

1. (not comparable) Eviscerated.
   • The exports, on the whole, in 1815, exceeded those of 1816; but the gutted herrings exported in the latter year exceeded those of the former by 12606½ barrels1829, Thomas Curtis, editor, The London encyclopaedia, or, Universal dictionary of science, art, literature, and practical mechanics, by the orig. ed. of the Encyclopaedia metropolitana
   • He was leaning forward, head down, taking one deliberate step after another, both arms behind, dragging his gutted buck by its barely forked antlers.2006, John Durand, Behind Enemy Lines: A Memoir
2. With the most important parts destroyed (often by fire), removed or rendered useless.
   • (referring to the practice of newspapers removing all intermediate vowels from the names of people about whom they were making potentially libelous statements, as eg Fl-r-o, compare 1714 cite of past participle, below) For he to keep him from the vapours, /Subscribed at Hookham's, saw the papers...1786, Hannah More, Florio read in The Works of Hannah More, in Four Volumes: Including Several Pieces Never Before Published, Vol. I. (1803)
   • Viasma on the other hand, presented as dismal a scene as we had any where witnessed. Nearly all the large houses were gutted and burnt.1819, John Thomas James, Journal of a Tour in Germany, Sweden, Russia, Poland in 1813-14
3. (archaic) Having a gut or guts.
   • Having spoke thus, she took the ugliest of her monsters, full gutted from her spleen, and flung it invisibly into his mouth, which, flying straight up into his head, squeezed out his eye-balls, gave him a distorted look, and half overturned his brain.1704, Jonathan Swift, A Full and True Account of the Battle Fought last Friday Between the Antient and the Modern Books in St James's Library read in John Hawkesworth The Works of Jonathan Swift...
   • He could tell she wanted to cry. "We've made a pact that we are going to try to get into men's basketball, and we're not going to do any of this crying stuff," he reminded her, and she gutted it out.2006, Karra Porter, Mad Seasons: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981
4. (slang) Deeply disappointed or crushed, as by defeat, failure, or loss; let down.
   • The whole platoon had felt gutted, an attitude rarely reflected in press reporters.1986, Keith William Nolan, Into Laos: Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719 ; Vietnam 1971
   • Throughout the book he runs the whole gamut of emotion from ‘chuffed' to ‘gutted', while being on the whole (surprisingly, for a fabulously gifted millionaire) more gutted than chuffed, and he cheerfully confesses to a short temper.2001, Terry Eagleton, Figures of Dissent: Critical Essays on Fish, Spivak, Zizek and Others

   Synonyms:

   filleted