mangle

/ˈmæŋɡl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmæŋɡl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmaŋ-gəl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈmæŋ.ɡəl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmæŋ.ɡəl/ (ame, ipa)

mangle — verb

  • manglepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • mangleshe / she / it
  • mangledpast simple
  • mangling-ing form

1. to badly damage a physical object or body part by crushing, tearing, or twisting

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to badly damage a physical object or body part by crushing, tearing, or twisting it, leaving it deformed beyond easy repair — for example, a car crushed in a crash, or a hand caught in a machine.

例句

The truck rolled twice and mangled the front of Felix's small car.

mangle + [physical object] — common in vehicle-crash reporting

Factory inspectors found that the press had mangled the worker's left hand.

subject is often a heavy machine or vehicle

同義詞
  • crush

    focuses on pressure; mangle adds the resulting deformed shape

  • mutilate

    more often used of bodies, with cruelty implied; mangle is often accidental

  • wreck

    general damage to a whole vehicle or structure; mangle keeps the original shape visible but deformed

反義詞

文法句型

mangle + [object]

be mangled (by + agent)

用法筆記

Object is typically a solid physical thing (vehicle, limb, metal, machinery) — not a soft or liquid substance. Frequently passive when the cause is a vehicle, machine, or disaster.

常見錯誤

❌The wind mangled the curtains.
✅The wind tore the curtains.
💡mangle needs the object to end up bent or crushed out of shape, not just torn or moved.
❌My coffee was mangled.
✅My coffee was spilled.
💡mangle is not used for liquids or food.

2. to ruin a spoken or written thing — such as a name, a song, a poem, or a foreign

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

to ruin a spoken or written thing — such as a name, a song, a poem, or a foreign phrase — by getting so many parts wrong that the original is hardly recognisable.

例句

The new presenter mangled almost every Polish surname on the guest list.

common object: foreign names or surnames the speaker doesn't know

Kabir mangled the lyrics of the national anthem in front of the whole school.

mangle + [lyrics/poem/speech] — public performance context

同義詞
  • butcher

    informal; similar feel — often used for songs and speeches

  • garble

    focus is on making the message unclear; mangle adds the sense of effortful failure

  • mispronounce

    narrower — only sounds; mangle covers wrong words, wrong order, and dropped lines too

反義詞

文法句型

mangle + [name, speech, lyrics, etc.]

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense always takes a verbal or written object (words, names, music, languages). The damage is to the form or meaning of language, not to a physical thing.

常見錯誤

❌The actor mangled the audience.
✅The actor mangled the famous monologue.
💡the object must be the words or performance, not the listeners.
❌I always mangle when I speak Japanese.
✅I always mangle Japanese pronunciation.
💡mangle is transitive; you need an object that gets ruined.

mangle — noun