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
  • But the Saudis, humiliated by their losses in Yemen, seem likely to lash out.
    — Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • When she and the other part-time employees were told their positions were being eliminated, Valcarcel said she felt humiliated and disrespected.
    — Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Ireland forward Adam Idah, who is Black, was allegedly racially abused by a small number of Israeli fans present during the first match.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The girl was found in Mexico along with her father, 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez, who authorities allege abused and impregnated her.
    — Jasmine Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 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
  • Sarsour denies committing those crimes and his attorneys say he was tortured and coerced into confessing in both instances.
    — Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • To succeed, the Sparrows would need to sell the story, even if tortured.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The video cuts to Swift living out exactly what Johnson’s been living through, revealing that Farrell poisoned Swift, leading to her death.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 27 Sep. 2026
  • In her other case, Hogan has been accused of trying to falsify a paternity test in a custody battle with her ex-fiancé, who was not the same man who was allegedly poisoned.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • His descriptions of being bullied in high school for his sexuality resemble plotlines from Very Special Episodes of TV, and his relationship with his ailing father is similarly generic.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Brutalized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalized. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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