dismember

/dɪsˈmɛmbər/
verb
  1. To cut or tear off the limbs or parts of a body.
    • In the horror movie, the monster dismembered its victims.
    • The ancient punishment was to dismember criminals as a warning to others.
    • The hunters dismembered the deer to carry it back to camp.
  2. To divide or split up a country, organization, or territory into smaller parts.
    • The board voted to dismember the company and sell its divisions separately.
    • The treaty threatened to dismember the empire into several smaller states.
    • After the war, the victorious nations agreed to dismember the defeated country.
Antonyms