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brutalize

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

verb (used with object)

brutalized, brutalizing

  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

Other Word Forms

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.