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
Advertisement The brutality of this week's raid was enough to draw criticism from the spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Marta Hurtado.
—
Rebecca Schneid, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Amin ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979 and his regime was infamous for its brutality and widespread human rights abuses.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
The business of changing the world is not just loaded with brooding brutality and the willingness to shed blood at every obstacle.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2025
The movie begins with a 10-year-old Michael already showing the brutality for which The Shape was known, then flashes forward 15 years to an adult Michael (Tyler Mane) pursuing his younger sister, Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton).
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Rebecca Schneid, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Amin ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979 and his regime was infamous for its brutality and widespread human rights abuses.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
The business of changing the world is not just loaded with brooding brutality and the willingness to shed blood at every obstacle.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2025
The movie begins with a 10-year-old Michael already showing the brutality for which The Shape was known, then flashes forward 15 years to an adult Michael (Tyler Mane) pursuing his younger sister, Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton).
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
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The film instead offers an intimate, unhurried exploration of human cruelty.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
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Politically, both parties are trading blame—Republicans citing fiscal law, Democrats accusing the administration of cruelty—while the court’s decision could set a lasting precedent for how federal agencies manage safety-net programs during funding lapses.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Likewise, young Waller proves a revelation, capable of communicating Danny’s vulnerability and brutishness on the turn of a dime.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Satellite images analyzed by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health and verified by CNN show clear evidence of the atrocities in El Fasher.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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Whether the atrocities of the RSF and SAF are comparable is an open question.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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All of a sudden, that animalism has been incarnated.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2024
Noun
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This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2025
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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 6 Nov. 2025.
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