maim

maim, cripple, mutilate, batter, mangle are comparable when they mean to injure the body or an object so severely as to leave permanent or long-lasting effects.

Maim implies the loss of a limb or member or the destruction of its usefulness usually through violence (as by war, accident, or the deliberate act of oneself or another)

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Automobiles maim large numbers of persons every year

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may- be I wouldn't have to kill you .... I could just maim you —so you couldn't keep me from turning back— Edison Marshall

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seems to have been maimed psychologically by a brutal father— N. Y. Times Book Rev.

}

Cripple (see also WEAKEN) is more restricted than maim because strictly it implies the loss of or serious impairment of the use of a leg or arm or part of one

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he is crippled as a result of an amputation following blood poisoning

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crippled by a congenital hip disease

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Mutilate (for specific sense of this word, see STERILIZE 1) implies the cutting off or removal of a part essential to completeness, not only of a person but also of a thing, and to his or its perfection, beauty, entirety, or fulfillment of function

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could make little manikins of their enemies and by mutilating these, inflict pains and ills on the persons they represented— Cobban

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windows . . . darkened by time and mutilated by willful injury— Henry Adams

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the last twelve pages of this codex have been mutilated by fire— Modern Language Notes

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Batter and mangle do not suggest loss of limb, member, or part, but they do suggest injuries which excessively disfigure the person or thing.

Batter implies a pounding (literal or figurative) that bruises deeply, deforms, or mutilates

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he emerged from the fight battered and dazed

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the first time he made a helmet, he tested its capacity for resisting blows, and battered it out of shape— Russell

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so rough were the roads that we were battered and pitched about like cargoes in a heavy sea— A. R. Williams

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Mangle, on the other hand, implies a tearing or crushing and a covering (literally or figuratively) with deep wounds or lacerations

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mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail— Milton

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reckless people who have disregarded the warnings and been mangled by sharks— Heiser

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Analogous words: mar, spoil, damage, injure: *deface, disfigure