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
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutalize
As her due date approached, she was brought to the infamous detention center Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (Navy School of Mechanics), known as ESMA, where prisoners were brutalized.
—
Sam Gillette, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Heads of foreign intelligence agencies recalled visiting his office and seeing a photograph of Nazi soldiers brutalizing Dagan’s grandfather on the wall.
—Yossi Melman, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2025
The Undertaker and Big Boss Man brutalized each other in a Hell in a Cell match.
—Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 5 Aug. 2025
The exterior had been brutalized: The stained glass was gone; the gray stone had been replaced by a flat expanse of concrete.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Sam Gillette, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Heads of foreign intelligence agencies recalled visiting his office and seeing a photograph of Nazi soldiers brutalizing Dagan’s grandfather on the wall.
—Yossi Melman, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2025
The Undertaker and Big Boss Man brutalized each other in a Hell in a Cell match.
—Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 5 Aug. 2025
The exterior had been brutalized: The stained glass was gone; the gray stone had been replaced by a flat expanse of concrete.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalize
Verb
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Strummer was humiliated by the whole album.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
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The Heat’s next two games comes against a Cavaliers team that humiliated Miami out of the first round of the playoffs last season.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The pair also pretended that Tammy was allegedly abusing them.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
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In handing down the sentence, Montenegro said Bonillo understood the scope of his misdeeds, abused his position of trust and used that position to enrich himself while undermining CBP’s main goal.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The torture, abuse, and dehumanizing conditions these characters experience make this show a hard watch, especially as lawmakers continue to police and chip away at women’s reproductive rights at the federal and local level.—
Taryn Finley,
Refinery29,
7 Nov. 2025
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The guy’s ghosting of me also dehumanized him.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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An unverified report circulated over the weekend that said Brown claimed Harbour bullied her on set.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
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The complaint alleges Kalumbula didn't protect the student when other students bullied him for having gay parents.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The Brit List script, which treads the line between black comedy and drama, is set in the early 20th Century Hungary where a village knitting club takes it upon themselves to poison their abusive husbands with arsenic.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
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People who are rude or unaware with receptionists can poison your culture, create unnecessary hierarchies, and drive your best people to leave.—
Jessica Neal,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Much of the Shamblins’ lawsuit — echoing past claims of wrongdoing by families of users who were allegedly mistreated or supported in their bad acts by ChatGPT and other AI — traces his descent into despondency.—
Adam Carlson,
PEOPLE,
11 Nov. 2025
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Two of Parcells’ first moves upon taking over as Miami’s vice president of football operations was to run off Zach Thomas, and to trigger a lifelong beef with Jason Taylor, mistreating both Hall of Famers.—
Omar Kelly
November 4,
Miami Herald,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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When, in reality, not that all Jews have money, but the reality is, for 3000 years, white people who were male and female, had money and didn't have money, were being brutally oppressed.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Our systems were built to oppress people of color.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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After female marches, which became iconic in the Belarusian revolution 2020, of course, the regime started to arrest women too and torture them too, the same as men.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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Daniel is just one of an unknown number of migrants who are currently being tortured on a near daily basis, somewhere in Libya’s Sahara Desert.—
Mick Krever,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalize. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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