The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Dismember \Dis*mem"ber\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dismembered; p.
   pr. & vb. n. Dismembering.] [OF. desmembrer, F.
   d['e]membrer; pref. des- (L. dis) + OF. & F. membre limb. See
   Member.]
   1. To tear limb from limb; to dilacerate; to disjoin member
      from member; to tear or cut in pieces; to break up.
      [1913 Webster]

            Fowls obscene dismembered his remains. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

            A society lacerated and dismembered.  --Gladstone.
      [1913 Webster]

            By whose hands the blow should be struck which would
            dismember that once mighty empire.    --Buckle.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To deprive of membership. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            They were dismembered by vote of the house. --R.
                                                  North.

   Syn: To disjoint; dislocate; dilacerate; mutilate; divide;
        sever.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

dismember
    v 1: separate the limbs from the body; "the tiger dismembered
         the tourist"
    2: divide into pieces; "our department was dismembered when our
       funding dried up"; "The Empire was discerped after the war"
       [syn: dismember, take apart, discerp]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

34 Moby Thesaurus words for "dismember":
   cripple, defoliate, denude, disassemble, dismantle,
   draw and quarter, flay, grill, impale, keelhaul, lacerate, maim,
   mangle, mayhem, mutilate, part, peel, pick to pieces, picket,
   pull apart, rack, separate, sever, shred, skin, strip, sunder,
   take apart, take down, tar and feather, tear apart, tear to pieces,
   tear to tatters, torture