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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutalize
Ayatollah Khamenei led a regime that brutalized its own people, launched attacks around the world for almost 40 years.
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ABC News, 1 Mar. 2026
Please join me in praying for US service members, our allies, and the innocent Iranian population that has been brutalized for decades.
—Twumasi Duah-Mensah, Charlotte Observer, 28 Feb. 2026
One of his stops was in Selma, Alabama, where, in 1965, state troopers and local police brutalized unarmed Black demonstrators.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
This week, as Connecticut residents remain priced out of basic necessities and watch their own government brutalize civilians in the streets, Congress is finally ready to take action — by asking you for $5,000.
—State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, Hartford Courant, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
ABC News, 1 Mar. 2026
Please join me in praying for US service members, our allies, and the innocent Iranian population that has been brutalized for decades.
—Twumasi Duah-Mensah, Charlotte Observer, 28 Feb. 2026
One of his stops was in Selma, Alabama, where, in 1965, state troopers and local police brutalized unarmed Black demonstrators.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
This week, as Connecticut residents remain priced out of basic necessities and watch their own government brutalize civilians in the streets, Congress is finally ready to take action — by asking you for $5,000.
—State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, Hartford Courant, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalize
Verb
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Well, everyone in show business has to humiliate themselves sometimes.—
Katherine Turman,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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But some Cubans still revere the 1959 revolution, and, as one foreign official told us, have no desire to humiliate Raúl Castro (Fidel’s 94-year-old brother and a former president), or even Díaz-Canel, who is widely viewed as a weak bureaucrat.—
Sarah Fitzpatrick,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors argue that Duckett was a monster in disguise who abused the badge and brutally raped and killed Teresa before dumping her body in a lake.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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The officer laughed and explained that someone had called in a report about a canine possibly being abused or in need of emergency veterinary care due to the noise.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Coalition for the Homeless says the city's unhoused are often dehumanized and criminalized.—
Jennifer Bisram,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
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In a world that often feels fragmented and dehumanized, reclaiming this universality is an ethical act.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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We just got bullied to the basket.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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And your husband should not have allowed himself to be bullied by his brother into sending a second present.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The second is a 100-day sludge line that will poison the reserves oil-hungry nations are racing to drain.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
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But would someone go so far as to poison a tree to keep the view open?—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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People created memes and videos mocking Roan for mistreating children.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
25 Mar. 2026
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Brazilian soccer star Jorginho Frello is accusing Chappell Roan‘s team of mistreating his 11-year-old daughter at a hotel in São Paulo.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Much of progressive ideological frameworks tend to divide the world into oppressors and oppressed.—
Arie Perliger,
The Conversation,
18 Mar. 2026
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For 47 years, Iranians have been subject to a regime that seeks to divide them, isolate them, oppress them, torture them and dispose of them.—
Talla Mountjoy,
Twin Cities,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Court records show that Gabriel was tortured by starvation, shot by BB guns, and forced to eat cat litter, cat feces and his own vomit.—
Rick Montanez,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
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His Venice entry triggered multiple walkouts in Sonoma, though, especially during a scene featuring the always solid Oscar Isaac getting tortured.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brutalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalize. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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