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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Recent Examples of brutalize
The gang developed a reputation for torturing, brutalizing and dismembering its victims.
—
T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, 12 June 2025
Kraft, who remains incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, was convicted of brutalizing and killing 16 men during a decadelong series of slayings in Orange County, California, that ended with his arrest.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 10 May 2025
Victims who spoke out really were emotionally brutalized.
—Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
Prosecutors say that behind the veil of his larger-than-life public persona, Combs was for years brutalizing vulnerable women with assistance from members of a criminal enterprise, who helped to keep his victims compliant and provoke fear in anyone perceived to threaten his power and control.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, 12 June 2025
Kraft, who remains incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, was convicted of brutalizing and killing 16 men during a decadelong series of slayings in Orange County, California, that ended with his arrest.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 10 May 2025
Victims who spoke out really were emotionally brutalized.
—Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
Prosecutors say that behind the veil of his larger-than-life public persona, Combs was for years brutalizing vulnerable women with assistance from members of a criminal enterprise, who helped to keep his victims compliant and provoke fear in anyone perceived to threaten his power and control.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalize
Verb
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Plato fled Syracuse, humiliated by the tyrants’ taunts.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
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Critics, including Lithuania's former foreign minister, warned the episode reflects Moscow's intent to provoke and humiliate its adversaries on the global stage.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Her story was part of Key Biscayne’s Dark Secret, a Herald investigation published last year that revealed her story and those of two other girls who also said they were abused.—
Ana Claudia Chacin,
Miami Herald,
18 Aug. 2025
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He has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of the women who say Epstein abused them.—
Jenna Sundel
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But for some, the consequences of AI signal a systemic, dehumanizing transformation, where generative systems mimic not just content, but the entire ecosystem: creator, reviewer, performer, promoter, consumer.—
Emil Steiner,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Of course, Hamas is wrong to dehumanize Palestinians by turning them into human shields, but this is no excuse for Israel to dehumanize Gazans, treating their plight merely as collateral damage.—
Michael S. Roth,
Time,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For her part, Cook said she won’t be bullied into stepping down and plans to rebut accusations of mortgage fraud from a Trump administration housing official.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
24 Aug. 2025
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Dumas said he will not be bullied into silence and is concerned about the well-being of the FMU student body and alumni.—
Raisa Habersham,
Miami Herald,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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One variation poisoned the 1930s: a country would devalue its currency to supposedly gain a competitive advantage against its trading partners.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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According to physicians, a 60-year-old man with no prior psychiatric or medical history arrived at their hospital’s emergency room claiming a neighbor poisoned him.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In recent decades, the public has become more concerned about animal welfare and animal rights, so killing and mistreating shelter animals has become less acceptable.—
Marc Joffe,
Oc Register,
9 Aug. 2025
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Goodman says women are the biggest fans, perhaps because throughout history they have been extraordinarily marginalized and mistreated by a lot of men.—
Donna Vickroy,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The only path to peace is the total disempowerment of the terrorist cartel that has for too long oppressed its own people while lethally menacing others.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 July 2025
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Ava Gardner was a mid-century bombshell as famous for her relationships with the likes of Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra as for her films, and by the late 1980s, when the play is set, her own star image seems to oppress her.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For more than three weeks, Halimi was held hostage and tortured.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Initially, Patricia had been kept blindfolded and tied to a chair in the same house where José was tortured.—
Sam Gillette,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalize. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.
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