1
as in humiliated
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 abused
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
Red Cross workers reported that prisoners had been brutalized
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutalized
Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been arrested and charged in the murder of his girlfriend, who was found brutalized at a home in Tennessee on Thursday before succumbing to her injuries.
—
Jami Ganz, Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2026
Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been arrested and charged in the murder of his girlfriend, who was found brutalized at a home in Tennessee on Thursday before succumbing to her injuries.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026
The Great Migration gave Black Americans a chance to start over without being brutalized for the pursuit of knowledge, liberation and self-expression, and the amount of talent and history in the room is staggering.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 3 Feb. 2026
American citizens have been brutalized, pepper-sprayed, and killed on the streets of Minneapolis.
—Aziz Huq, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
But the women who were brutalized, and the community, deserve better.
—Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
There isn’t much consistency to the rule, nor much logic to the fact that bystanders seem to turn a blind eye as the boys are continually brutalized.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
How about the Hollywood know-nothings Susan Sarandon or Mark Ruffalo, who have so much to say about the suffering of Hamas terrorists but not a peep for people being brutalized and murdered by actual terrorists?
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2026
The series explores death in ways that are almost unique to commercial television, without losing sight of the audience’s need not to be needlessly brutalized.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 29 Dec. 2025
Jami Ganz, Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2026
Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been arrested and charged in the murder of his girlfriend, who was found brutalized at a home in Tennessee on Thursday before succumbing to her injuries.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026
The Great Migration gave Black Americans a chance to start over without being brutalized for the pursuit of knowledge, liberation and self-expression, and the amount of talent and history in the room is staggering.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 3 Feb. 2026
American citizens have been brutalized, pepper-sprayed, and killed on the streets of Minneapolis.
—Aziz Huq, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
But the women who were brutalized, and the community, deserve better.
—Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
There isn’t much consistency to the rule, nor much logic to the fact that bystanders seem to turn a blind eye as the boys are continually brutalized.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
How about the Hollywood know-nothings Susan Sarandon or Mark Ruffalo, who have so much to say about the suffering of Hamas terrorists but not a peep for people being brutalized and murdered by actual terrorists?
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2026
The series explores death in ways that are almost unique to commercial television, without losing sight of the audience’s need not to be needlessly brutalized.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 29 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalized
Verb
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Still, Friday ranked as one of the most unexpected breakdowns in international sports since Germany humiliated host Brazil, 7-1, at the 2014 soccer World Cup.—
Bora Erden,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Be ashamed and humiliated and would have apologized.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Her relationship with her daughter, Caroline Darian, has been especially tense, as Darian felt her mother wasn’t supportive enough of her concerns that she might have been abused by her father.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
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Dacoda Jones filed the lawsuit on Monday in Dallas County District Court, which alleges that Rice abused her numerous times from December of 2023 through July of 2025.—
Steven Rosenbaum,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Our past, our lives, dehumanized into numbers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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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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Now it’s finally tortured artist Benedict Bridgerton’s (Luke Thompson) turn.—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
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All of this makes the job of being an informed citizen just tortured.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This friend group is so poisoned.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
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In 2016, dozens of residents from a subdivision about 20 miles from the Boarmans’ home sued oil giant ConocoPhillips, alleging that years of improper oil field waste disposal had poisoned their drinking water.—
Nick Bowlin,
The Frontier,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That defense straight up bullied him.—
Prince J. Grimes,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
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The young boy then has to navigate being 10 and being bullied, having crushes on girls, all while older siblings Yvette (Essence Atkins) and Marcus (Jason Weaver) cringe at the thought of him being at the same high school.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brutalized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalized. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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