Synonyms of brutally

brutally

adverb

as in harshly

in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering

the prisoners were treated brutally at the hands of the guards

Synonyms & Similar Words

• harshly
• severely
• oppressively
• hard
• sternly
• ill
• roughly
• stiffly
• ruthlessly
• mercilessly
• aggressively
• savagely
• abusively
• pitilessly
• heartlessly
• inhumanly
• viciously
• strongly
• unmercifully
• hardly
• inhumanely
• callously
• unsparingly
• grimly
• tyrannically
• insensitively
• unfeelingly
• brutishly
• firmly
• obdurately
• uncharitably
• cold-bloodedly
• determinedly
• resolutely
• insensately
• toughly
• decidedly
• assertively
• hard-heartedly
• gruffly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lightly
• gently
• mildly
• softly
• leniently
• lovingly
• tenderly
• kindly
• graciously
• cordially
• considerately
• benevolently
• sympathetically
• mercifully
• clemently
• compassionately
• humanely
• charitably
• understandingly
• tolerantly
• benignantly
• softheartedly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of brutally

Investigators say he had been abducted, driven to another county, and brutally killed. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026

All three were brutally murdered and now the mother's uncle, Maurice Shnaider, wants justice. — Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

In practice, the most durable empires have relied on informal collaboration with local elites, whereas brutally coercive ones tend to be short-lived. — Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026

Surprise, surprise, the crime had a supernatural basis—and is linked to a number of others, all brutally depicted in reels of film left in his attic. — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026

Witch fever, by this point in history, had become a mechanism for brutally regulating and disciplining female behavior, and doing so intergenerationally. — Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026

The flags couldn’t be redder, and Khoshnoudi nimbly sketches out the circuitous emotional paths S takes to avoid seeing them until such evasion suddenly and brutally becomes impossible. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

The father pulls over, and the car is immediately swarmed over by bandits, who brutally kill him — plus his wife and two kids — with no mercy. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026

When three bodies are found brutally torn apart in a house, Meg (Deborah Ann Woll) is informed by Ian (Will Hochman), the detective working the case, that one of them is her dad, who has been missing for 36 years. — David Faris, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026