maim implies the loss or injury of a bodily member through violence.
maimed by a shark
cripple implies the loss or serious impairment of an arm or leg.
crippled for life in an accident
mutilate implies the cutting off or removal of an essential part of a person or thing thereby impairing its completeness, beauty, or function.
a tree mutilated by inept pruning
batter implies a series of blows that bruise deeply, deform, or mutilate.
an old ship battered by fierce storms
mangle implies a tearing or crushing that leaves deep wounds.
a soldier's leg mangled by shrapnel
Example Sentences
Verb The bomb killed 16 people and maimed several others. on-the-job accidents maim far too many workers every year
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Of safety, as destitution fuels a crime wave even as terrorist attacks — though reduced — continue to kill and maim. Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2022 Daemon is a ruthless warrior and an agent of chaos, whose idea of establishing law and order is to brutally maim (and, in one case, castrate) miscreants. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 22 Aug. 2022 No one has a right to maim or kill someone because our words offend them. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2022 While government ministers signed the agreement in an ornate room in Istanbul, with their countries' flags lined up together, a few hundred miles away their troops continued to kill and maim each other.Arkansas Online, 23 July 2022 While government ministers signed the agreement in an ornate room in Istanbul, with their countries’ flags lined up together, a few hundred miles away their troops continued to kill and maim each other.BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2022 While government ministers signed the agreement in an ornate room in Istanbul, with their countries’ flags lined up together, a few hundred miles away their troops continued to kill and maim each other.New York Times, 22 July 2022 Cluster munitions spread submunitions — small explosives called bomblets — over a wide area, and are intended to kill or maim personnel and destroy vehicles and equipment. Mac William Bishop, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2022 Anti-personnel land mines often kill and maim civilians long after hostilities have ended.Arkansas Online, 5 June 2022
Noun
Imad Eddin Wadi, 64, was indicted in June on a charge of conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure people and damage property in another country, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison. Guillermo Contreras, San Antonio Express-News, 9 Dec. 2021 Hightower planned to contact inmates in other prisons in the state to carry out a plan to either kill, maim or severely injure Tiarks, according to court documents. Tracy Neal, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English maymen, mahaymen, from Anglo-French maheimer, mahaigner — more at mayhem