dismember

[ dis-mem-ber ]

verb (used with object)

1. to deprive of limbs; divide limb from limb:

   The ogre dismembered his victims before he ate them.

2. to divide into parts; cut to pieces; mutilate.
3. to reduce, reorganize, or discontinue the services or parts of (a company, government agency, etc.):

   Our business was dismembered by the conglomerate that bought it.

dismember

/ dɪsˈmɛmbə /

verb

1. to remove the limbs or members of
2. to cut to pieces
3. to divide or partition (something, such as an empire)

Derived Forms

• disˈmemberer, noun
• disˈmemberment, noun

Other Words From

• dis·member·er noun
• dis·member·ment noun
• nondis·member·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dismember¹

1250–1300; Middle English dismembren < Anglo-French, Old French desmembrer, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ + -membrer, verbal derivative of membre member

Example Sentences

Newspaper reporters flocked to Dumfries and Galloway after dismembered and disfigured human remains were discovered beneath a bridge over a stream.

From BBC

Only, sometimes, these cadavers are not truly donated — and the dead person never consented to have their body dismembered.

From Salon

"Our government has, literally, in some cases, made up excuses and ignored reporting that would have forced us to stop sending those weapons that are dismembering their bodies."

From Salon

When that didn’t work, she and others dismembered the body, placed the pieces in vacuum-sealed bags and dumped the body into the San Francisco Bay.

From Los Angeles Times

Metson murdered Holly in an act that police have described as "barbaric" - stabbing her multiple times before he dismembered her body into more than 200 pieces and disposed of them in the River Witham.

From BBC

Related Words

• dismantle
• maim
• mutilate
• sever
• sunder