dismember

/dɪsˈmembə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪsˈmembər/ (ame, ipa) · /(ˌ)dis-ˈmem-bər/ (ame, mw)

dismember — verb

  • dismemberpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • dismembershe / she / it
  • dismemberedpast simple
  • dismembering-ing form

1. to remove a dead person's or animal's limbs by cutting or tearing the body apart

1.動詞及物C2
釋義

to remove a dead person's or animal's limbs by cutting or tearing the body apart

例句

Police said the killer dismembered the body to hide the crime.

dismember + body — formal crime-report pattern

By sunrise, scavengers had dismembered the deer beside the highway.

同義詞
  • mutilate

    broader — it means badly damage the body, not necessarily remove limbs

  • disjoint

    more technical and less common, often focusing on separating body parts

  • tear apart

    more general and less formal, and it does not always imply removal of limbs

文法句型

dismember + body/corpse/remains

be dismembered

用法筆記

Usually appears in police reports, history, or horror writing. The object is a dead person or animal, not a living patient in an ordinary medical context.

常見錯誤

❌The surgeon dismembered the patient to remove the tumor.
✅The surgeon operated on the patient to remove the tumor.
💡'dismember' is about tearing a dead body or animal apart, not medical treatment.

2. to split a country, empire, or large organization into separate smaller parts so

2.動詞及物C2
釋義

to split a country, empire, or large organization into separate smaller parts so it stops acting as one whole

例句

The treaty dismembered the empire and left several weak border states.

dismember + empire/state in political history

Foreign powers tried to dismember the kingdom after the civil war.

同義詞
  • break up

    more general and less formal, without the same violent historical force

  • partition

    focuses on formally dividing land or territory into parts

  • fragment

    emphasizes breaking into weak separate pieces, often over time

反義詞
  • unify

    means bring separate parts together into one whole

文法句型

dismember + country/empire/state

be dismembered by

用法筆記

Often used about political force, war, or major internal division. It is much stronger than ordinary verbs like divide or split and suggests lasting damage to the whole.

常見錯誤

❌We dismembered the club into two teams for the game.
✅We split the club into two teams for the game.
💡'dismember' is a very strong verb usually used for countries, empires, or major organizations.