Synonyms of mangle

mangle

verb

ˈmaŋ-gəl 

as in to fumble

to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way

you've mangled this so badly that we'll have to do it over

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fumble
• blow
• dub
• ruin
• botch
• butcher
• bungle
• destroy
• boot
• spoil
• murder
• boggle
• injure
• mar
• fluff
• muff
• screw up
• damage
• mutilate
• foul up
• bumble
• flub
• impair
• goof (up)
• muck up
• wreck
• bugger (up)
• foozle
• hurt
• bobble
• louse up
• muddle
• bollix (up)
• flaw
• mess (up)
• harm
• blunder
• gum (up)
• vitiate
• blight
• mismanage
• blemish
• mishandle
• piffle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improve
• better
• help
• refine
• enhance
• ameliorate
• rectify
• remedy
• reform
• patch
• repair
• fix
• meliorate
• renovate
• revamp
• recondition
• doctor

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb mangle contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of mangle are batter, cripple, maim, and mutilate. While all these words mean "to injure so severely as to cause lasting damage," mangle implies a tearing or crushing that leaves deep wounds.

a soldier's leg mangled by shrapnel

When would batter be a good substitute for mangle?

Although the words batter and mangle have much in common, batter implies a series of blows that bruise deeply, deform, or mutilate.

an old ship battered by fierce storms

When could cripple be used to replace mangle?

While in some cases nearly identical to mangle, cripple implies the loss or serious impairment of an arm or leg.

crippled for life in an accident

When is maim a more appropriate choice than mangle?

The meanings of maim and mangle largely overlap; however, maim implies the loss or injury of a bodily member through violence.

maimed by a shark

Where would mutilate be a reasonable alternative to mangle?

The synonyms mutilate and mangle are sometimes interchangeable, but 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mangle

Fatal crashes with pedestrians ‘mangle their bodies’ In 2023, over 1,300 people died in California in crashes that were determined to involve speeds over the speed limit or speeds that were unsafe for the current conditions. —Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Mistakes embraced, names mangled mid-debate, Yet every jest recalled, however late. —David Hochman, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025

Seventeen wooden joists in the south-west corner’s terracing collapsed, sending those standing in the affected area through the floor, with some mangled in the steel and others plunging all the way to the ground. —Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 17 May 2025

The Israeli military said that soldiers buried the bodies to prevent them from being mangled by stray dogs and coyotes until they could be collected, and that the ambulances were moved to allow the route to be used for civilian evacuations later that day. —Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2025

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!