1
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
the police were accused of brutality for using excessive force in making arrests
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brutishness
the manifestation of the traits or the gratification of the appetites of a lower animal
the disconcerting ease with which the people adopted the brutality of the enemy invaders
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutality
The sequence of him observing the chaos and the brutality of the massacre around him, that was pretty heavy and intense.
—
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2025
Prayer has always been my bulwark against the casual brutality of life.
—Nelson C.j., New York Times, 4 May 2025
The real work to change CPD’s historic culture of brutality and discrimination has hardly begun.
—Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2025
But hopefully his brutality would be even more intense because of his kindness.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2025
Prayer has always been my bulwark against the casual brutality of life.
—Nelson C.j., New York Times, 4 May 2025
The real work to change CPD’s historic culture of brutality and discrimination has hardly begun.
—Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2025
But hopefully his brutality would be even more intense because of his kindness.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
-
His father, Colin Gray, 54, has been indicted on 29 felonies including two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children.—
Devon M. Sayers,
CNN Money,
6 May 2025
-
Is the austerity of her work simply regurgitated cruelty?—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
Noun
-
Our government continues to give Israel billions in military aid with which to carry out these atrocities.—
Jia Tolentino,
New Yorker,
3 May 2025
-
Less than half a dozen countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, and Armenia have recognized these atrocities.—
Lynn Zovighian,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
Noun
-
Hope is something that Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri can related to, having explored the dualities of hope and despair (as well as lightness and darkness, and fluidity and animalism) in her spring 2023 collection.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
WWD,
22 Jan. 2025
-
All of a sudden, that animalism has been incarnated.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2024
Noun
-
This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2025
-
But also, something more intrinsic — something like her animality.—
Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutality. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
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