Mangle Meaning
/ˈmæŋ.ɡ(ə)l/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo change, mutilate, or disfigure by cutting, tearing, rearranging, etc.
verbTo modify (an identifier from source code) so as to produce a unique identifier for internal use by the compiler, etc.
Sentence Examples
Christianity is not the answer, and it has even managed to mangle the question.
How did Tom mangle his hand?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The serious car accident will ____ the metal beyond any possible repair.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Be careful not to ____ the delicate flowers by handling them too roughly when you are arranging them.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English mangelen, manglen, from Anglo-Norman mangler, mahangler, frequentative of either Old French mangonner (“to cut to pieces”) or mahaigner (“to mutilate”), of Germanic origin, for which see mayhem. Alternate etymology derives mangle from Middle English *mankelen, a frequentative form of manken (“to mutilate”), from Old English *mancian, bemancian (“to maim”). More at mank.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"There was a bright-red plastic baby-bath, a car tyre, a rusty mangle, and something that looked like a primitive version of a washing machine."
— 1993, John Banville, Ghosts:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The serious car accident will ____ the metal beyond any possible repair.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Be careful not to ____ the delicate flowers by handling them too roughly when you are arranging them.