MUTILATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mutilation mean? 

• MUTILATION (noun)
  The noun MUTILATION has 2 senses:

1. an injury that causes disfigurement or that deprives you of a limb or other important body part

2. the act of damaging the appearance or surface of something

  Familiarity information: MUTILATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MUTILATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An injury that causes disfigurement or that deprives you of a limb or other important body part

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("mutilation" is a kind of...):

accidental injury; injury (an accident that results in physical damage or hurt)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mutilation"):

dismemberment; taking apart (the removal of limbs; being cut to pieces)

Derivation:

mutilate; mutilate (destroy or injure severely)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of damaging the appearance or surface of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

defacement; disfiguration; disfigurement; mutilation

Context example:

he objected to the dam's massive disfigurement of the landscape

Hypernyms ("mutilation" is a kind of...):

damage; harm; hurt; scathe (the act of damaging something or someone)

 Context examples 

As he heard the voice his face brightened, through its mutilation, and he said:—That is Dr. Van Helsing.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It affects males and is characterized by neurologic defects, moderate mental retardation, muscle hypotonia, and a tendency for self-mutilation (self-biting of lips, tongue, and fingertips).

(Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

Not for the wide world will I consent to any mutilation of her dead body.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)