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  1. maim love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To disable or disfigure, usually by depriving of the use of a limb or other part of the body. See Synonyms at batter1.
  2. v. To make imperfect or defective; impair.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To disable by wounding or mutilation; deprive of, or of the use of, a necessary constituent part, as of the body, or, figuratively, of anything; in old law, to deprive of the use of a limb, so as to render a person less able to defend himself in fighting, or to annoy his adversary; mutilate. See mayhem.
  2. Synonyms Mangle, etc. See mutilate.
  3. n. A disabling wound or mutilation: the deprivation of a necessary part, or of the use of it, as a limb; a crippling, or that which cripples; in old law, deprivation by injury or removal of the use of some member serviceable in fight or for self-protection.
  4. n. See the quotation, and mayhem.
  5. n. A hurt or wound in general; an injury.
  6. n. A defect or blemish.

Wiktionary

  1. v. To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To deprive of the use of a limb, so as to render a person in fighting less able either to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
  2. v. To mutilate; to cripple; to injure; to disable; to impair.
  3. n. The privation of the use of a limb or member of the body, by which one is rendered less able to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
  4. n. The privation of any necessary part; a crippling; mutilation; injury; deprivation of something essential. See Mayhem.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration or mutilation

Etymologies

  1. Middle English maymen, mahaymen, from Anglo-Norman maheimer, mahaigner; see mayhem. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English maimen, from Old French mahaignier; see mayhem. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said that the court's ruling would frustrate congressional intent and "maim" a law that was enacted as an important defense against organized criminal enterprises.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Justices Rule for Defendants

  • “What but butchery by piecemeal can, under such circumstances, be expected from a man brutal enough at first to 'maim' and 'disable' him, and now exasperated by being obliged to pay his full value to the master, and to have, in addition, the daily care and expense of his maintenance.”

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus

  • “Page 146 enough at first to 'maim' and 'disable' him, and now exasperated by being obliged to pay his full value to the master, and to have, in addition, the daily care and expense of his maintenance.”

    American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses

  • “Caplan has said that the only possible justification for allowing someone to decide to "maim" themselves is if "the donor chooses to undergo the harm of surgery solely to help another.”

    Salon

  • “The prudent course is to avoid giving Islamofascists an excuse to kill or maim them.”

    Television

  • “Glenn is more like the snake oil salesman who asks for a pretty young volunteer, only to maim them for life with his product.”

    Think Progress » The Right-Wing Backlash Against Glenn Beck: Stop Being A ‘Clown’ Who’s Trying To Divide Conservatives

  • “Did you know that poorly-performed cover tunes kill or maim more people each year than drunken drivers?”

    Entrenched and depressing.

  • “But unlike IEDs, which routinely and purposefully kill and maim those caught in their path, divorce does not have to destroy a child's life; it does not have to destroy their sense of safety, their relationships to either parent, or their chance for a happy, contented childhood or successful adulthood.”

    The Huffington Post: Jonathan Weiler: A Divorced Couple's Perspective on Raising a Child, Part I

  • “The evening of April 9, Nasser told Byroade that complying with a cease-fire would be difficult because he had sent Fedayeen commandos into Israel with orders to kill and maim a number of Israelis equivalent to the Egyptian casualties in Gaza.”

    Simon & Schuster: Eisenhower 1956

  • “The arrogant superstar had recorded a few songs to maim mafia brass: “Mafia, These Nuts” and “Snuff by Nigga Necktie.””

    Simon & Schuster: Show Stoppah

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synonyms (14)

Words with the same meaning

  1. cripple
  2. mutilate
  1. mangle
  2. injure
  1. disable
  2. impair
  1. crippling
  2. mutilation
  1. injury
  2. bemaim
  1. deface
  2. truncate
  1. pinion
  2. hamstring

hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. injure
  1. wound

hyponyms (4)

Words that are more specific

  1. cripple
  1. mutilate
  1. mar
  1. lame

same context (21)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. deform
  2. lame
  3. diseased
  4. mangle
  1. disable
  2. infirm
  3. deaf
  4. malformed
  1. defective
  2. unable
  3. homeless
  4. forlorn
  1. defenseless
  2. flawed
  3. degrade
  4. scorch
  1. indigent
  2. unclean
  3. puny
  4. indisposed
  1. helpless

rhymes (38)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Ame
  2. Boehme
  3. Graeme
  4. Mayme
  5. Sejm
  6. acclaim
  7. aflame
  1. aim
  2. ashame
  3. ballgame
  4. became
  5. blame
  6. boehm
  7. brame
  1. came
  2. claim
  3. dame
  4. damme
  5. declaim
  6. defame
  7. disclaim
  1. exclaim
  2. fame
  3. flame
  4. frame
  5. game
  6. inflame
  7. kaim
  1. lame
  2. name
  3. overcame
  4. postgame
  5. proclaim
  6. reclaim
  7. rename
  1. same
  2. shame
  3. tame

reverse dictionary (10)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. mutilate
  2. cripple
  1. maihem
  2. mayhem
  1. main
  2. truncate
  1. bemaim
  2. mine
  1. trunk
  2. mangle

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‘maim’ has been looked up 3078 times, loved by 2 people, added to 20 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 8.