ENGLISH
REFERENCE

butchered

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈbʊtʃɝd// UK //bˈʊtʃəd// butchered

adj. badly damaged or ruined because of a lack of skill. You use this when someone does a job very poorly, like singing a song badly or making many mistakes in a speech.

adj. severely damaged, ruined, or executed with a gross lack of skill. Often used to describe the poor performance of a creative work or the mishandling of a task.


SIMPLE

The singer completely butchered the national anthem.

CONTEXTUAL

The local theater group butchered the classic play by forgetting half their lines and using terrible accents.

COMPLEX

While the original manuscript was a masterpiece of subtle prose, the translated version was so poorly edited that the author's intent felt completely butchered.

Synonyms
Usage

Typically used predicatively after linking verbs like 'feel' or 'look', or as a participial adjective before a noun.

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