mangle

CEFRB2

/ˈmæŋ.ɡ(ə)l/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To damage or destroy something by crushing, tearing, or twisting it.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A hand-operated device with rollers, for wringing laundry.

Examples

  • Christianity is not the answer, and it has even managed to mangle the question.

  • How did Tom mangle his hand?

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈmeɪ̯ŋ.ɡ(ə)l/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To modify (an identifier from source code) so as to produce a unique identifier for internal use by the compiler, etc.

  2. To change, mutilate, or disfigure by cutting, tearing, rearranging, etc.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. The mangle attached to wringer washing machines, often called the wringer.

More examples

In context

  • c. 1703-20, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Very Young Lady on Her Marriage when they are disposed to mangle a play or a novel

  • 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.

  • mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The serious car accident will blank the metal beyond any possible repair.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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.