Synonyms of brutality

brutality

noun

brü-ˈta-lə-tē 

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

• cruelty
• atrocity
• savagery
• barbarity
• inhumanity
• sadism
• savageness
• heartlessness
• murderousness
• cruelness
• viciousness
• fiendishness
• barbarousness
• truculence
• ruthlessness
• inhumanness
• wantonness
• mercilessness
• atrociousness
• ferocity
• oppressiveness
• meanness
• grimness
• pitilessness
• ferociousness
• fierceness
• bloodthirstiness
• malevolence
• bloodlust
• spitefulness
• hatefulness
• hard-heartedness
• maliciousness
• unfeelingness
• sanguinity
• harshness
• malignity
• heavy-handedness
• nastiness
• fellness
• sanguineness
• despitefulness
• cattiness
• hardhandedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sympathy
• humanity
• compassion
• kindness
• humaneness
• tenderness
• benignity
• warmth
• tenderheartedness
• warmness
• kindheartedness
• good-heartedness
• mercy
• pity
• leniency
• clemency
• warmheartedness
• charitableness
• mercifulness

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

• cruelty
• brutishness
• animalism
• bestiality
• animality
• beastliness
• barbarity
• sensuality
• physicality
• savagery
• rudeness
• carnality
• swinishness
• sadism
• boorishness
• viciousness
• crudeness
• grossness
• coarseness
• loutishness
• wantonness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• spirituality
• intellectuality
• nobility
• magnanimity
• compassion
• kindness
• benevolence
• beneficence
• benignity
• kindliness
• high-mindedness
• greatheartedness
• tenderheartedness
• kindheartedness
• good-heartedness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of brutality

But the brutality becomes off-putting after a while and a tragic plot element in the final act seems unearned. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026

Wildlife cameras documented Jackie and Shadow’s life together, offering viewers a direct look into the brutality and beauty of nature. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026

Nearly four years after Kaepernick kneeled in response to police brutality, worldwide protests emerged in the wake of Floyd’s killing. — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2026

In the years that followed, athletes increasingly used their platforms to speak out against racial injustice and police brutality, especially after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 triggered global protests. — Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026