verb

mangle

MANG-guhl/ˈmæŋɡl/

To severely damage something through rough treatment.

A heavy branch mangles the bicycle's wheel and frame.

A badly crushed bicycle wheel and twisted frame beside a fallen heavy branch, severe physical damage obvious, no injured person or text.

Etymology

mangleAnglo-Frenchto mutilate by repeated blows

Anglo-French mangler conveyed mutilation by repeated blows. This physical destruction broadened into ruining something's completeness, connecting severe bodily or material damage with figurative uses such as garbling words.

In context

Blondihacks0:45

machine tools are actively trying to murder you at all times deny them the ability to grab you and pull you in they'll mangle you so fast you won't know what happened

Metal Lathe Tutorial 1 : Theory

More examples

The jammed printer mangles every sheet I feed into it.
A dull blade can mangle the fabric instead of cutting cleanly.
The actor mangles even the simplest lines in the script.

Forms

mangle · mangles · mangled · mangling

Similar words

crush: Specifically means damaging something by strong pressure or compression.
shred: Specifically means tearing or cutting something into small strips.
mutilate: Emphasizes severe disfigurement, often involving the loss of body parts.