brutalized

past tense of brutalize

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 brutalized Allegations of abuse, inmates being brutalized by jailers, and dire conditions have plagued the facility for years, leading some county leaders, former sheriffs and civil rights advocates to call for the jail to be closed. James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 Because they’ve been brutalized by the same machinery of repression. Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026 How many people will stay home rather than risk being racially profiled and brutalized? Kica Matos, Time, 26 Aug. 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 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 Nikitin was drugged and brutalized by his captors in the Soviet psychiatric prisons. David Folkenflik, NPR, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalized
Verb
  • 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
  • My husband was humiliated, he was degraded, and not able to defend himself.
    Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • That body, established in 2017 in response to the crimes of Larry Nassar, the Michigan physician who serially abused young gymnasts, can investigate misconduct, including nonsexual misconduct, in any Olympic sport.
    Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Two other people claimed to have been abused by the artist during their childhood, according to Libération, but are also not included in the case headed to trial because the incidents took place too far in the past.
    Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The petition argues Mays’ language during the trial revealed something deeper than a poor defense strategy — a worldview that dehumanized the man he was supposed to defend.
    Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The costume and the posture of the model in the photo drew comparisons online to images of the racist theatrical character Jim Crow, a staple in blackface minstrel shows, which dehumanized Black people.
    Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Over the course of about three days, Manson's followers tortured Hinman.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The former beauty queen’s family claim that she was tortured by the suspects over dowry demands, reported the BBC.
    Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • And so, in many ways, the well of public opinion was already poisoned.
    Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Colonizers call it voluntary emigration, but there is nothing voluntary about fleeing after your home has been bombed, your fields poisoned, your water cut off and your child buried.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
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

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Cite this Entry

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

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