What does maimed mean?
“Maimed” is a past-tense form of the verb “maim” and an adjective describing someone who has sustained a severe bodily injury. Such an injury may involve the loss or destruction of a body part, although the word also suggests lasting disability and impaired use of the body. As a verb form, it is typically used in constructions such as “was maimed” or “were maimed in the accident.” As an adjective, it can occur before a noun, as in “maimed survivors,” or after one, as in “left maimed.” The word is chiefly associated with serious accidents, violence, warfare, and other catastrophic events. It is considerably stronger and more consequential than the general term “injured,” carrying implications of permanent suffering or disability. Consequently, it is most appropriate in factual reporting, historical accounts, and descriptions of severe trauma, rather than in casual or euphemistic language.
Having sustained a severe bodily injury that results in permanent disability or loss of a body part.
"Doctors were unable to save the hand of the badly maimed worker."
The adjective conveys that the injury has serious and lasting consequences.
Past tense and past participle of maim: to injure someone so severely that a body part is lost or permanently disabled.
"The blast maimed several people who were trapped near the building."
This form is used with a subject and the past tense, or with have, had, or being as the auxiliary.
“Maimed” carries a grim double meaning: it describes both the injury and the permanent loss that may remain after it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does maimed come from?
The underlying verb “maim” comes through Old French from a Germanic source, probably Old Norse “mein,” meaning harm or injury. In Middle English, related forms referred to bodily injury or the loss of a limb. The modern verb developed the established sense of permanently injuring or disabling someone, and “maimed” is its past tense and past participle. The word is also associated with “mayhem,” which came through French from the same medieval French vocabulary.
Related word forms
How maimed is actually used
This is a strong, grave word used especially for serious and lasting bodily harm. It is more explicit and emotionally intense than “injured” and is generally avoided in euphemistic or lighthearted contexts.
Easily confused with maimed
Both describe grave physical injury, but “maimed” often emphasizes lasting disability or loss of function, whereas “mutilated” more directly denotes the destruction or amputation of a body part.