1
as in to humiliate
to make (someone) feel or behave more like an animal than a human being
even three years in a prison camp did not brutalize him
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to abuse
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
Red Cross workers reported that prisoners had been brutalized
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutalize
Guards, many of them teenage cadets from police academies, are reportedly ordered to humiliate and brutalize detainees, some barely older than themselves.
—
Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 20 May 2025
Then there’s Danaher, the worst of all, which has been brutalized by a lack of Chinese biotech offerings.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
Brewers reliever Trevor Megill took a pretty harsh stance on the new style of bats that were used to brutalize Milwaukee's pitching.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
The last time a Padres bullpen was brutalized like this over a five-game stretch was in 1977.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 20 May 2025
Then there’s Danaher, the worst of all, which has been brutalized by a lack of Chinese biotech offerings.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
Brewers reliever Trevor Megill took a pretty harsh stance on the new style of bats that were used to brutalize Milwaukee's pitching.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
The last time a Padres bullpen was brutalized like this over a five-game stretch was in 1977.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalize
Verb
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Miller sought to shield these women, her suit said, and as a result she was humiliated, harassed and ultimately forced out of her job by Spitzer and Nelson.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
20 June 2025
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As Howard begins to humiliate Matt, the camera follows all angles of the table, making sure to showcase everyone’s reactions.—
Leia Mendoza,
Variety,
17 June 2025
Verb
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There’s a deep history of the citizens getting abused by the police and corrupt government, but also of the people protesting against that.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
27 June 2025
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The court gave a win to the Trump administration as officials have repeatedly complained about federal judges blocking the president’s policies and claimed judges are abusing their power and are biased against him politically.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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At a time of dehumanizing language and rampant violence against immigrants, Real Women steps up to its moment.—
Marjorie García,
Billboard,
26 June 2025
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The anti-immigrant agenda and the attack on federal workers are both designed to dehumanize, divide, and distract.—
Alissa Tafti,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Verb
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In the extreme, influencers are building social-media empires by bullying women into cutting calories and exercising for hours a day.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
25 June 2025
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One more user reminded viewers to learn from the online bullying fellow islander Huda Mustafa, a 24-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, faced earlier in the season.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
24 June 2025
Verb
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Prior to foreign hunters visiting Uruguay and providing a financial incentive to keep the birds’ populations healthy, ducks were often poisoned en masse because they were seen as little more than crop raiders.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Has sports gambling poisoned the relationship between athletes and fans?—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Cameras are expected to return to Broward County’s special-needs classrooms to help parents determine whether their child may have been abused or mistreated at school.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2025
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The Russian leader would be the cleaning lady who was overlooked and mistreated by the scientists in the good old days but who, uh, showed those silly male scientists who the real boss was when the zombies showed up.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2025
Verb
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Her performances quickly gain in popularity, and Seti becomes a star for a young generation that no longer wants to be oppressed by the regime.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
25 June 2025
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Its fight is with the regime, not with the Iranian people, who have been oppressed by the ayatollahs for almost half a century.—
Laurence Milstein,
Sun Sentinel,
24 June 2025
Verb
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Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
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An immigration judge determined that he would likely be persecuted or tortured if deported to Guatemala again, and granted him an order protecting him from removal.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalize. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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