Synonyms of violence

violence

noun

ˈvī-lən(t)s 

1

as in brutality

the use of brute strength to cause harm to a person or property

an act of violence caused the window to be shattered

Synonyms & Similar Words

• brutality
• injury
• assault
• terror
• force
• compulsion
• attack
• foul play
• riot
• coercion
• outrage
• savagery
• pressure
• barbarity
• battery
• damage
• harm
• mayhem
• threat
• fury
• rage
• mutilation
• revolt
• impairment
• duress
• turbulence
• hurt
• shock
• bullying
• upheaval
• maiming
• constraint
• whaling
• crippling
• beating
• detriment
• outbreak
• rampage
• onslaught
• whipping
• frenzy
• clubbing
• rupture
• thrashing
• mauling
• tumult
• bashing
• battering
• pounding
• smashing
• pummeling
• paroxysm
• flogging
• buffeting
• thumping
• hammering
• paddling
• drubbing
• licking
• pelting
• belting
• bludgeoning
• uproar
• batting
• bulldozing
• lacing
• cudgeling
• storm
• browbeating
• walloping
• pommeling
• hectoring
• tromping
• strong-arming
• socking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonviolence
• pacifism
• pacificism

2

as in intensity

the quality or state of being forceful (as in expression)

taken aback by the violence of her denial of any wrongdoing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intensity
• intenseness
• aggressiveness
• emphasis
• assertiveness
• vigorousness
• forcefulness
• vehemence
• fierceness
• strength
• power
• warmth
• potency
• eloquence
• insistence
• fervor
• fervency
• stridency
• passion
• directness
• ardor
• vociferousness
• vividness
• ardency
• incisiveness
• incision
• fervidness
• plainness
• absoluteness
• straightforwardness
• clearness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• weakness
• ambiguity
• feebleness
• mildness
• subtlety
• lightness
• delicacy
• equivocation

3

as in emotion

depth of feeling

some people were taken aback by the violence with which the magazine's art critic attacked the exhibition

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intensity
• emotion
• enthusiasm
• intenseness
• warmth
• passionateness
• passion
• heat
• fire
• fervor
• white heat
• vehemence
• fervency
• zeal
• excitement
• tenderness
• ardor
• compassion
• ardency
• fervidness
• sentimentality
• responsiveness
• sympathy
• emotionalism
• melodrama
• emotionality
• histrionics
• fanaticism
• cathexis
• obsession
• earnestness
• infatuation
• fever
• eagerness
• mawkishness
• sentiment
• zest
• mania
• gusto
• sappiness
• hot-bloodedness
• keenness
• torridness
• torridity

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• insensitivity
• impassivity
• insensitiveness
• insensibility
• impassiveness
• dryness
• indifference
• reticence
• apathy
• calmness
• aloofness
• composure
• phlegm
• reserve
• taciturnity
• stoicism
• stiffness
• unconcern
• stoniness
• insensibleness
• detachedness
• collectedness
• coldness
• reservedness
• coolness
• frigidity
• chilliness
• woodenness
• frigidness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of violence

Users of classical psychedelics who underwent a major trip on the Fourth of July expressed reduced support for partisan political violence, whereas tripping around the time of the Democratic and Republican conventions increased it. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Some left after the 2010 earthquake, but the vast majority left after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and the deepening violence and instability that followed. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

The mass strike, known as the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), hoped to topple the regime through non-violence. — Andrew Nachemson, The Dial, 22 Sep. 2026

There’s this weird attraction to potential violence and knowing that you’re safeguarded from it. — Anusha Praturu, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026