as in harshly
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
the prisoners were treated brutally at the hands of the guards
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Recent Examples of brutally
In December of ‘91, Beuerlein came off the bench to fill in for injured starting quarterback Troy Aikman and led the Cowboys to an upset playoff win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on a brutally cold day on Lake Michigan.
—
Mac Engel
june 4, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2026
In 2023, a Brazilian university student died while waiting for a brutally hot concert by the pop star.
—Rebecca Hersher, NPR, 4 June 2026
In a show built around characters who fought to obscure nearly every facet of their true inner lives, Maddy was refreshingly, sometimes brutally herself.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
Beijing’s sprawling crackdown on soaring debt levels and oversupply in the property sector hit owners brutally.
—Reagan Yip, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
In 2019, Tessa Majors was brutally murdered in New York City's Morningside Park during a botched robbery.
—Corin Cesaric, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
Then Sunday night’s series finale brought it all to an abrupt, patchwork, and brutally callous end.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 2 June 2026
The timing of a matchup like this – brutally efficient play on both ends – is exactly what the NBA wants and needs at the end of year one of its new TV deals.
—John Cassillo, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
The humanoid robot still raises big questions Home cleaning is brutally hard for robots.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
Mac Engel
june 4, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2026
In 2023, a Brazilian university student died while waiting for a brutally hot concert by the pop star.
—Rebecca Hersher, NPR, 4 June 2026
In a show built around characters who fought to obscure nearly every facet of their true inner lives, Maddy was refreshingly, sometimes brutally herself.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026
Beijing’s sprawling crackdown on soaring debt levels and oversupply in the property sector hit owners brutally.
—Reagan Yip, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
In 2019, Tessa Majors was brutally murdered in New York City's Morningside Park during a botched robbery.
—Corin Cesaric, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
Then Sunday night’s series finale brought it all to an abrupt, patchwork, and brutally callous end.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 2 June 2026
The timing of a matchup like this – brutally efficient play on both ends – is exactly what the NBA wants and needs at the end of year one of its new TV deals.
—John Cassillo, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
The humanoid robot still raises big questions Home cleaning is brutally hard for robots.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutally
Adverb
-
Trump harshly criticized Powell throughout his tenure as chair, frequently attacking the Fed’s interest-rate decisions and urging the central bank to cut borrowing costs more aggressively.—
Leah Willingham,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
Trump harshly criticized Powell throughout his tenure as chair, frequently attacking the Fed’s interest-rate decisions and urging the central bank to cut borrowing costs more aggressively.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 May 2026
Adverb
-
Finally, if Anthropic is the third to go public, remember the market will be severely depleted of cash.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
-
The explosion appears to have severely damaged the launch structure, LC36, along with the loss of the rocket.—
Space.com Staff,
Space.com,
30 May 2026
Adverb
-
Fortunately, this spell of hot temps will be a generally drier heat — not necessarily oppressively humid like is typical for New England.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
19 May 2026
-
The first of the four chapters is an oppressively gray-toned, narratively diffuse spy thriller, set amid the mists of what appears to be the Second World War.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
18 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
Fernando has no such accidents despite hitting the ball hard.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
-
The couple hard-launched their relationship in 2019 with their first red carpet appearance at the LACMA Art + Film Gala in LA.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brutally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutally. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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