mutilate
/ˈmjuː.tɪˌleɪt/
mutilate verb: to physically harm as to impair use, notably by cutting off or otherwise disabling a vital part, such as a limb.
Verb
mutilate (third-person singular simple present mutilates, present participle mutilating, simple past and past participle mutilated)
- To physically harm as to impair use, notably by cutting off or otherwise disabling a vital part, such as a limb.
- mutilated currency
- Little old lady got mutilated late last night
Werewolves of London again.1978, “Werewolves of London”, in Warren Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel (music), Excitable Boy, performed by Warren Zevon
- To destroy beyond recognition.
- To render imperfect or defective.
- For two reasons then it is right to be content with that which happens to thee; the one, because it was done for thee and prescribed for thee, and in a manner had reference to thee, originally from the most ancient causes spun with thy destiny; and the other, because even that which comes severally...1862, George Long (translation of Marcus Aurelius), Meditations, Book V
Adjective
mutilate (not comparable)
Noun
mutilate (plural mutilates)
- Something that has been mutilated.
mutilate meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
mutilate in Tamil
- உருச்சிதை, உருப்புக்குறை, சேதப்படுத்து
mutilate in Urdu
- کاٹنا, مسخ کرنا
mutilate in Bengali
- অঙ্গচ্ছেদ করা, বিকলাঙ্গ করা, বিকৃত করা
mutilate in Malayalam
- കൈയോ കാലോ മുറിച്ചുകളയുക, അംഗഹീനമാക്കുക, ബുക്കിലെ ഷീറ്റ്മാറ്റി ഉപയോഗശൂന്യമാക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- mutilate in Kannada
- ಊನಾಂಗರನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡು, ಅಂಗಹೀನರನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡು, ಅಂಗವಿಕಲರನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡು, ಕಡಿದುಹಾಕು
- mutilate in Arabic
- شَوِهَ šawiha, بَتَرَ batara, جَذَعَ jaḏaʕa, جَدَعَ jadaʕa
Examples of mutilate in a sentence
- Do not fold, spindle or mutilate this document.
- When they told you not to fold, spindle, or mutilate a punchcard, the spindling referred to rolling it up.
- Watch your back.” Canoeing is a term for when people mutilate someone’s head.
Synonyms of mutilate
Forms of mutilate
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | mutilates |
| present participle | mutilating |
| past participle | mutilated |
| past | mutilated |
| Adjective | |
| alternative form | mut. |
| Noun | |
| plural | mutilates |
Origin of mutilate
Learned borrowing from Latin mutilātus, the perfect passive participle of mutilō (“to mutilate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), itself from mutilus (“maimed”).
Words formed from mutilate
Questions about mutilate
- What does mutilate mean?
- Mutilate means to physically harm as to impair use, notably by cutting off or otherwise disabling a vital part, such as a limb.
- What is mutilate in Tamil?
- Mutilate in Tamil is உருச்சிதை, உருப்புக்குறை, சேதப்படுத்து. See Mutilate meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is mutilate?
- Mutilate can be a verb, an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce mutilate?
- Mutilate is pronounced /ˈmjuː.tɪˌleɪt/.
- What is the past tense of mutilate?
- The past tense of mutilate is mutilated.
Words near mutilate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mutilate (page history and authors); mutilate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mutilate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mutilate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mutilate (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mutilate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-mutilate.wav.
Cite this entry: “mutilate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mutilate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.