maim

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On land and in sea the animal creation chase and maim, and slay and devour each other.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

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

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Pointing to Palmer's maim, the V.P. blurted out: "If I had this guy's hair, I might have had a shot in the primaries." —  The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com
  • There are simply those who kill, maim, and destroy in the name of their deity, and those who want it all to end and to be left alone to live in peace. —  ROFASix
  • Biologists recognize that genetic mutation introduces destructive (kill, maim, or render sterile offspring before reaching adulthood) noise into DNA information, and so fails to explain new body plans on any timescale. —  Evolution News & Views
  • Naturally most historical so-called Christians over the centuries and American evangelicals used and still use that instruction as an excuse to kill, maim, torture, and otherwise torment those fellow critters in that Garden of Eden and sometimes in our garden of veggies. —  magic-city-news.com
  • Cars have built in flame throwers that burn car jackers, large switch blade like devices that swing out from under the car (pivot point at the front), electrocuting door handles, and other contraptions to maim or kill an attacker. —  Answerbag: Latest Questions in Question Categories
 

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This word has been looked up 103 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

deform ·  lame ·  diseased ·  mangle ·  disable ·  infirm ·  deaf ·  malformed ·  defective ·  unable ·  homeless ·  forlorn

Used in the same contextWord Family

maim:   maimed
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English maimen, from Old French mahaignier; see mayhem.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Also, obsolete or dial., main; from Middle English maimen, maymen, mayhemen, mainen, maynen, Old French mehaigner, mahaigner = Provencal maganhar = Italian magagnare (Middle Latin mahemiare, mahanare, mahennare, mehaignare), maim; cf. Breton machaña, mutilate, machan, mutilation, prob. from the of.; ulterior origin uncertain.
  2. Also mayhem (as technically used in law), formerly mahim; from Middle English maim, maym, maihem, mayhem, from Of. mehaing, mehain, mahain (Middle Latin mahamium, mahaignium, mahainium), a maim, bodily defect through injury, = Italian magagna, a defect, blemish: see maim, v.
 

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/meɪm/
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