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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In his director’s statement, Edwin describes the film as an attempt to merge horror with dark comedy and surreal fantasy while confronting labor exploitation and dehumanizing working conditions.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 Jan. 2026
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Kansas City’s Democratic congressman Emanuel Cleaver condemned the warehouse proposal as dehumanizing in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Labor Department inspector general's office has interviewed staff in connection with the investigation, which followed a complaint that Chavez-DeRemer was having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and abusing her office.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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Benny isn’t abusing his daughter.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
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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Yorgos Lanthimos, Florian Zeller and Juliette Binoche are among more than 800 film professionals who have signed a joint statement condemning the Iranian government for killing and torturing its own people.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
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Dan Bujor, who lives out of a school bus parked in Long Island City, was arrested Sunday on charges including overdriving animals, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide sustenance, in addition to driving without a license, in connection with the bizarre incident, cops said.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In the novel, the story instead concludes aboard the Princess Andromeda cruise ship, where Luke is tricked into confessing to poisoning Thalia’s tree, clearing Chiron’s name.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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The study reveals that Cl–Fe–N4 exhibits stronger Cl–poisoning resistance in seawater environments.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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What misconceptions do people still have about bullying?—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
24 Jan. 2026
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After bullying their way through three CFP games behind 225-pound Mark Fletcher, the Hurricanes’ backs managed just 27 yards on 11 carries in the first half against Indiana.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
20 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brutalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutalizing. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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