Mutilated

To mutilate means to inflict serious damage on something, often a body part or an object, by cutting, tearing, or otherwise destroying it. It implies violent action resulting in permanent impairment, disfigurement, or destruction. The act often suggests brutality, destruction, or desecration. While it can refer to physical damage, it can also describe severe alteration of concepts or ideas, often in a destructive or perverting manner.

Mutilated meaning with examples

• The bomb blast ripped through the marketplace, leaving a scene of devastation with many of the buildings and the few remaining vehicles mutilated, and the remains of their occupants scattered across the ground. Rescue workers worked frantically to pull survivors from the rubble.
• During the ritual, the ancient statue, once a symbol of peace and prosperity, was found mutilated by an unknown assailant. The once-intact face and limbs were deliberately broken off. The local community was deeply disturbed by the desecration and destruction of the important artifact.
• The artist's new work, a political satire, was so controversial that the gallery owner feared censorship and ordered that the paintings be mutilated, with crucial lines and symbols painted over to diminish their impact and keep from being attacked.
• The editor had to stop the publication of the manuscript. His research team found documents that contained critical government secrets; and to prevent exposure, the files were deliberately and permanently mutilated, so that they could not be restored. The discovery left the research team shocked.