brutalize

verb

bru·​tal·​ize ˈbrü-tᵊl-ˌīz 

brutalized; brutalizing

transitive verb

1

: to make brutal, unfeeling, or inhuman

temperaments brutalized by poverty and disease

2

: to treat brutally

an accord not to brutalize prisoners of war

brutalization

ˌbrü-tᵊl-ə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Synonyms of brutalize

• humiliate
• dehumanize
• poison

Examples of brutalize in a Sentence

a young man brutalized by the experience of war

The prisoners claimed to have been brutalized by their captors.

Recent Examples on the Web

American citizens have been brutalized, pepper-sprayed, and killed on the streets of Minneapolis. —Aziz Huq, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026

But the women who were brutalized, and the community, deserve better. —Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026

There isn’t much consistency to the rule, nor much logic to the fact that bystanders seem to turn a blind eye as the boys are continually brutalized. —Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026

How about the Hollywood know-nothings Susan Sarandon or Mark Ruffalo, who have so much to say about the suffering of Hamas terrorists but not a peep for people being brutalized and murdered by actual terrorists? —Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from French brutaliser, going back to Middle French, from brutal brutal + -iser -ize

First Known Use

circa 1704, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for brutalize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize