1
as in dehumanizing
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 abusing
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 brutalizing
Art the Clown likes brutalizing women.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
He was fired a few years later over allegations of brutalizing a suspect in custody.
—Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
Lesnar, who returned with a violent message on SmackDown, made his intentions clear by brutalizing Cena and issuing the challenge.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 7 Nov. 2025
He was fired a few years later over allegations of brutalizing a suspect in custody.
—Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
Lesnar, who returned with a violent message on SmackDown, made his intentions clear by brutalizing Cena and issuing the challenge.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutalizing
Verb
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Some of these deportation efforts have been purposefully dehumanizing, like the opening of Alligator Alcatraz.—
William D. Lopez,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
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The oversimplification of a complex developmental difference that exists on a spectrum of many different abilities and experiences is dehumanizing at best and dangerous at its worst, autism experts, advocacy groups and members of the community told USA TODAY.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
22 Sep. 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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Archbishop Mitty product and San Jose native Aaron Gordon scored 18 while abusing Podziemski and other Warriors guards in the low post.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Hundreds — some with and some without criminal records — have vanished without due process indefinitely into the prison systems of other countries infamous for torturing inmates.—
Mercury News & East Bay Times editorial,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
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Dahbia Benkired was convicted of raping, torturing and killing Lola Daviet, according the BBC, BFMTV and The New York Times.—
Liam Quinn,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In November 2024, an American citizen was among six tourists who died in Laos, where alcohol tainted with methanol was blamed for poisoning them.—
Jay Ganglani,
NBC news,
5 Nov. 2025
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What about him specifically bothers you especially in terms of poisoning the youth?—
Jayson Buford,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The idea of bullying states and cities into following orders from the president is a key part of the text, says David Graham, a journalist for The Atlantic who also wrote a book on the project.—
Kat Lonsdorf,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
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The results are similar, with each former employee’s clique now bullying Robert in protest.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalizing. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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