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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

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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

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 The same curriculum includes Prophet Muhammed’s history of brutalizing Christians and Jewish people — a framing that Muslim families and interfaith advocates found issue with in public comment. — Rachel Royster. Produced With Ai Assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 July 2026 Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 June 2026 Family Photo The family had fled the Congo after Carine, an activist, was brutalized for speaking out against the ruling regime. — Jim Axelrod, CBS News, 31 May 2026 The Original brutalized El Grande Americano II back inside the ring. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 31 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
  • Continue reading … STILL THEIR TURF — Walker outgains Denver's entire offense as Chiefs humiliate Broncos on MNF.
    — , FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of humiliate
Verb
  • The scandal led to Paterno’s firing, and the university paid more than $100 million to people who said they were abused by Sandusky.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Some critics report being verbally abused, doxxed, and even threatened with rape and death by BJP supporters.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of abuse
Verb
  • Hisbah members also face widespread allegations of rights abuses in their enforcement operations, including subjecting offenders to dehumanizing punishments such as public beatings or shaming.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • To dehumanize Jews, invoke Goebbels and Nazi imagery, tell Jews to ‘go back to Poland,’ and describe a swastika painted outside a Jewish family’s home as an appropriate symbol for ‘zionazis’ is not criticism of Israel.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of dehumanize
Verb
  • Yes, Stark has painted, or, more accurately, anodized, powder-coated, and otherwise bullied into submission just about everything to black.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Newcastle were not only beaten, but they were also bullied and battered into submission — physically overpowered and outplayed in every facet.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of bully
Verb
  • Over the course of Exile, one of Loktev’s subjects is poisoned; another receives a five-year prison sentence in absentia.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • This is the league, remember, where a man (Harvey Updyke) confessed to poisoning the trees at Auburn on a radio show after Alabama lost to the Tigers, and a coach (Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State) castrated a bull to motivate his squad.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of poison
Verb
  • Even more consequentially, some jihadi groups turned Muslim publics against them by mistreating Muslim civilians.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The other has been dismissed or mistreated in a clinic before, and reads the same sentence as confirmation that they were not told the whole story the first time.
    — Aleeza Gerstein, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of mistreat
Verb
  • But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed.
    — William Earl, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Suffering from severe financial inequality and oppressed by the yoke of dictators and oligarchs, the people rise up and storm the seat of government.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of oppress
Verb
  • Barahona has been behind bars since March 2011 after being accused of killing Nubia and torturing her twin brother, Victor.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Repetitive imagery of freeways, streetcar tracks, even horses seem to torture the main characters for feeling stuck.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of torture

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Brutalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalize. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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