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brutalize

American  
[broot-l-ahyz] / ˈbrut lˌaɪz /
especially British, brutalise

verb (used with object)

brutalizes, present (3rd person singular) brutalized, past participle, past brutalizing present participle

  1. to make brutal.

  2. to treat (someone) with brutality.

brutalize British  
/ ˈbruːtəˌlaɪz /

verb

  1. to make or become brutal

  2. (tr) to treat brutally

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of brutalize

First recorded in 1695–1705; brutal + -ize

Vocabulary lists containing brutalize

We're not asking, we're demanding: Vocabulary from "Selma," the movie

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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