brutalize

verb

ˈbrü-tᵊl-ˌīz How to pronounce brutalize (audio)
Definition of brutalizenext
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to abuse
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon Red Cross workers reported that prisoners had been brutalized

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 brutalize While Roger Federer is depicted as James Bond, in a tux, elegant and wrinkle-free, Nadal is called Rambo, ripped and relentless, brutalizing the ball and opponents alike. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026 Taxpayers are beholden to the two-party system, a system that steals from and brutalizes working-class people to serve the billionaires. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 5 May 2026 Enslaved people were often punished, beaten, or further brutalized for showing emotion, grieving openly or resisting in visible ways. — Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2026 Euthanasia decisions are already brutalizing for dog owners, and those decisions may become even more fraught. — Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalize
  1. humiliate
  2. abuse
  3. dehumanize
  4. bully
  5. poison
  6. mistreat
  7. oppress
  8. torture
Verb
  • The Iranians are now setting the terms of this conflict and are routinely humiliating the American president.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • One has to be willing to humiliate oneself in order to yodel, there is no spiritual bypass.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
Definition of humiliate
Verb
  • Some evidence of harms from testosterone stem from people who abuse the hormone, taking levels well above what would be used to bring a patient with hypogonadism into a normal range.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026
  • The textbook catalogs the ways prosecutors can abuse their powers.
    — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 17 July 2026
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • Nydia Cardenas, Democratic candidate for Precinct 4 County commissioner, said the Republican majority on the Commissioners Court dehumanize the people in the jail and decided that the deaths in the jail are not an issue.
    — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 July 2026
  • His followers responded with a steady stream of invective, describing Atkin and Jammi in misogynistic and, at times, dehumanizing language.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
Definition of dehumanize
Verb
  • Two weeks after being bullied off X by gangs of LIB truthers, German soccer fan Freddy, whose wholesome social media posts on American culture during his travels around the country early in the World Cup, has returned to the app.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2026
  • Children who are bullied may also experience back-to-school anxiety.
    — Kimberly Zapata, Parents, 12 July 2026
Definition of bully
Verb
  • Not knowing she’d been poisoned and that it was related to Russian espionage, Rowley decided to run a few errands before joining her there.
    — Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • Michael seemed to be saying that by admitting her dishonesty, Ethel would have ruined their childhood and poisoned any prospect of a future relationship with her.
    — Amy Weiss-Meyer, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Definition of poison
Verb
  • After reporting Lopez missing last September, Lopez’s daughter told a detective that Yepez had been mistreating her mother at work, the police report said.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • By 1790, half of the world's coffee was being grown in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, in what is today Haiti, Pendergrast says, where slaves were routinely mistreated, raped and murdered.
    — James Doubek, NPR, 3 July 2026
Definition of mistreat
Verb
  • Man oppressed woman legally, economically, socially, educationally, morally, professionally and religiously.
    — Brian DeLay, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
  • Your structure sorts the whole world into two boxes, oppressor and oppressed.
    — Joyce Kamanitz, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026
Definition of oppress
Verb
  • Where the film diverts from the norm lies in the unique, complicated characters and their weird, tortured even touching relationships.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • Along these routes, the bulldozers piled up mounds to enclose fortified compounds, military outposts and detention facilities where Palestinians were interrogated and tortured.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
Definition of torture

Browse Nearby Words

brutality
brutalize
brutalized
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brutalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalize. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on brutalize

Nglish: Translation of brutalize for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All