五马分尸 wǔ mǎ fēn shī — tearing a person apart by five horses (an ancient punishment); dismemberment

五马分尸
wǔ mǎ fēn shī

Characters: 五 · 马 · 分 · 尸

Definitions

  1. tearing a person apart by five horses (an ancient punishment); dismemberment

More definitions

CC-CEDICT

  1. (idiom) to tear off sb's four limbs and head using five horse-drawn carts (historical form of capital punishment)
  2. (fig.) to tear apart
  3. to utterly destroy
  4. to brutally dismember

ExtDict

  1. 古代的一种酷刑，用五匹马分裂人的头和四肢，又称“四裂”。比喻硬把完整的东西分割得非常零碎。

Examples

  • 这种酷刑名唤五马分尸，极其残酷。

    This cruel punishment, tearing the prisoner apart by five horses, was brutally harsh.

  • 好端端一本书被撕得像五马分尸一般。

    The once-intact book was torn to pieces as if by five horses.