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
The music education student at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee loved playing instruments, singing and acting, until her life was brutally cut short in 2013.
—
Mason Leath, ABC News, 23 Jan. 2026
Snow starts in Maryland late Saturday night Most of Saturday will be dry, but also brutally cold with temperatures in the teens and lower 20s.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
The snow will accompany a brutally cold weekend, with temperatures expected to remain below 20 degrees from Friday night into Monday morning and wind chills staying between 0 degrees and 10 degrees.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Another winter staple that’s bound to become your favorite item to wear on a brutally cold winter day?
—Jasmine Fox-Suliaman, InStyle, 21 Jan. 2026
This grinding machinery of repression is brutally effective in the short term.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 20 Jan. 2026
When their convoy is brutally ambushed, Amber is forced to put her life in Tibor’s hands.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
Emotional clarity arrives via a conversation, announcement or a brutally honest journaling prompt.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026
Giants with Social and Entertainment at the center of so much daily life, will face that tradeoff earlier and more brutally than most.
—Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Mason Leath, ABC News, 23 Jan. 2026
Snow starts in Maryland late Saturday night Most of Saturday will be dry, but also brutally cold with temperatures in the teens and lower 20s.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
The snow will accompany a brutally cold weekend, with temperatures expected to remain below 20 degrees from Friday night into Monday morning and wind chills staying between 0 degrees and 10 degrees.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
Another winter staple that’s bound to become your favorite item to wear on a brutally cold winter day?
—Jasmine Fox-Suliaman, InStyle, 21 Jan. 2026
This grinding machinery of repression is brutally effective in the short term.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 20 Jan. 2026
When their convoy is brutally ambushed, Amber is forced to put her life in Tibor’s hands.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2026
Emotional clarity arrives via a conversation, announcement or a brutally honest journaling prompt.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026
Giants with Social and Entertainment at the center of so much daily life, will face that tradeoff earlier and more brutally than most.
—Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutally
Adverb
-
The government harshly policed interracial relationships.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Harbaugh must act swiftly and harshly, though, in delivering the change the Giants need.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
In the ninth century, a severely disabled woman was buried, her feet bound, in an annex of the church in Elsau, outside Zürich.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The time is never right to severely chop off your crape myrtle.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
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
-
The second planet from the sun has a completely inhospitable surface, with temperatures reaching 863 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius) and a crushing pressure underneath an oppressively thick atmosphere.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
The previously slumping Geekie scored two goals, including the game-winner late in the third period, a shot that was hammered so hard that no one saw the puck go in the net, until Geekie raced down and pointed to where the puck was lodged.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
-
That history is why Van's post-UFC 324 trolling hits so hard.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brutally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutally. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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