Russian Translation(s) & Details for 'mutilate'

English Word: mutilate

Key Russian Translations:

• искалечить [iskɐˈlʲet͡ɕɪtʲ] - [Formal, used in contexts of serious physical injury]
• изуродовать [izʊrɐˈdavatʲ] - [Informal, often implying disfigurement or severe damage]

Frequency: Medium (This verb is commonly encountered in medical, legal, or narrative contexts but not in everyday casual conversation.)

Difficulty: B2 (Intermediate; requires understanding of Russian verb aspects and perfective forms. For 'искалечить', it's B2; for 'изуродовать', it's also B2 due to irregular conjugations.)

Pronunciation (Russian):

искалечить: [iskɐˈlʲet͡ɕɪtʲ]

Note on искалечить: This is a perfective verb with a soft 'л' sound, which can be challenging for English speakers due to the palatalization. Stress falls on the third syllable.

изуродовать: [izʊrɐˈdavatʲ]

Note on изуродовать: The initial 'и' is pronounced as a short 'i', and the verb has a strong emphasis on the prefix, indicating completion of action.

Audio: []

Meanings and Usage:

To injure seriously, especially causing permanent damage

Translation(s) & Context:

• искалечить - Typically used in formal or medical contexts, such as accidents or violence, to describe irreversible harm.
• изуродовать - Applied in informal or descriptive contexts, like disfigurement in art, war, or personal stories.

Usage Examples:

• В автомобильной аварии он искалечил руку, и теперь она не функционирует должным образом.

  In the car accident, he mutilated his arm, and now it doesn't function properly.

• Война изуродовала лицо солдата, оставив глубокие шрамы на всю жизнь.

  The war mutilated the soldier's face, leaving deep scars for life.

• Медики боролись, чтобы не искалечить пациента во время сложной операции.

  The doctors fought to avoid mutilating the patient during the complex surgery.

• Художник намеренно изуродовал статую, чтобы передать тему разрушения.

  The artist intentionally mutilated the statue to convey the theme of destruction.

• Несчастный случай на фабрике искалечил множество рабочих, вызвав общественный скандал.

  The factory accident mutilated many workers, sparking a public scandal.

To damage or alter severely (e.g., in a non-physical sense)

Translation(s) & Context:

• изуродовать - Used metaphorically for texts, ideas, or objects, implying distortion or ruin.

Usage Examples:

• Переводчик изуродовал оригинальный текст, полностью изменив его смысл.

  The translator mutilated the original text, completely altering its meaning.

• Бюрократия изуродовала простой план, добавив ненужные осложнения.

  Bureaucracy mutilated the simple plan, adding unnecessary complications.

Russian Forms/Inflections:

Both 'искалечить' and 'изуродовать' are perfective verbs in Russian, which means they express completed actions. Russian verbs inflect based on tense, aspect, person, number, and gender. 'Искалечить' is irregular in some forms, while 'изуродовать' follows more standard patterns.

Note: These verbs do not change in the present tense as they are perfective; instead, imperfective counterparts like 'калечить' or 'изуродовать' (imperfective) would be used for ongoing actions.

Russian Synonyms/Antonyms:

• Synonyms:
  • ранить (ranit') - More general for wounding, often less severe.
  • повредить (povredit') - Implies damage without permanent harm; differs in that it's less graphic.
• Antonyms:
  • исцелять (istleat') - To heal or cure.
  • восстанавливать (vosstanavlivat') - To restore or repair.

Related Phrases:

• Искалечить тело - To mutilate the body; used in medical or forensic contexts to describe severe injury.
• Изуродовать лицо - To disfigure the face; common in narratives about accidents or violence.
• Изуродовать текст - To mangle or distort text; refers to poor translations or edits.

Usage Notes:

Russian translations like 'искалечить' and 'изуродовать' correspond closely to 'mutilate' in English, but they emphasize the perfective aspect, meaning the action is completed. Use 'искалечить' for formal, physical contexts (e.g., medical reports), and 'изуродовать' for informal or metaphorical ones. Be mindful of gender agreement in past tense forms. English speakers often confuse these with imperfective verbs; choose based on whether the action is finished.

• In spoken Russian, these verbs can sound intense, so they're best in serious discussions.
• When selecting between translations, opt for 'искалечить' if the focus is on permanent injury, and 'изуродовать' for aesthetic or emotional damage.

Common Errors:

• Mistake: Using the verb in the wrong aspect, e.g., saying "я калечу" (imperfective) when meaning a completed action. Correct: Use "я искалечил" for past completed action. Explanation: Russian requires perfective for finished events; this error can make the sentence unclear.
• Mistake: Forgetting gender agreement, e.g., saying "она искалечил" instead of "она искалечила". Correct: "Она искалечила руку." Explanation: Russian past tense verbs agree with the subject’s gender, unlike English, leading to grammatical errors.
• Mistake: Overusing in casual speech, e.g., translating "I messed up my hair" as "Я изуродовал волосы", which is too dramatic. Correct: Use milder verbs like "испортил". Explanation: These words imply severe harm, so they don't fit light contexts.

Cultural Notes:

In Russian culture, words like 'изуродовать' often appear in literature (e.g., Dostoevsky's works) to symbolize the psychological and physical toll of war or hardship. They carry a deeper connotation of human suffering and resilience, reflecting Russia's historical experiences with conflict and adversity.

Related Concepts:

• рана (рана) - Wound
• шрам (шрам) - Scar
• травма (травма) - Trauma or injury