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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brutality
That video sparked an outcry against police brutality and riots when the officers were eventually exonerated.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
This film demonstrates just how dangerous aesthetics are when weaponized, how beauty can mask brutality.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
The result is that many people with civil claims are effectively unable to use the court system to help with such complaints as an abusive work environment, racial discrimination, environmental violations, police brutality or other issues handled by the federal courts.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Their bodies collide in a chaotic struggle that reflects both the brutality and beauty of the game.
—Jonel Juste, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
This film demonstrates just how dangerous aesthetics are when weaponized, how beauty can mask brutality.
—Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
The result is that many people with civil claims are effectively unable to use the court system to help with such complaints as an abusive work environment, racial discrimination, environmental violations, police brutality or other issues handled by the federal courts.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Their bodies collide in a chaotic struggle that reflects both the brutality and beauty of the game.
—Jonel Juste, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
-
Initially, the couple was arrested on charges of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree unlawful restraint, intentional cruelty to persons, risk of injury to a minor and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to a minor.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
-
There was a particular cruelty in having lived with her hearing for 28 years before losing it.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Generations of agents, therefore, have had to walk a line between bookishness and brutishness.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
-
But the brutishness has merely relocated, to places far more dangerous.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The men took part in the March of the Living program, which aims to educate teenagers about the atrocities of the Holocaust.—
Steven Yablonski,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
-
This atrocity was a defining moment for America and your pain and shock were felt around the whole world.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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
-
In other words, humans can act against the animal component of their nature and manifest their humanity by rejecting their animality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Nov. 2025
-
This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutality. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
