brutality

[broo-tal-i-tee]

noun

plural

brutalities 

1. the quality of being brutal; cruelty; savagery.

2. a brutal act or practice.

Other Word Forms

• overbrutality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brutality¹

First recorded in 1540–50; brutal + -ity

Example Sentences

When Welteroth took the helm in 2016, the Black Lives Matter movement was bringing renewed attention to police brutality and systemic racism in the criminal legal system.

Read more on Salon

But rights groups have sharply criticised the security forces pointing to the high death toll and what they have described as the "brutality" of their actions.

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When the leftist intelligentsia split into feuding factions, Cowley and the New Republic obstinately persisted in advocating for Stalinism despite ample proof of its brutality and despotism.

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"Europe is in the shadow of a war," says German Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius, pointing the finger at Russia, which he accuses of "waging it with maximum brutality, cynicism and ruthlessness."

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What does surprise is his prescience about still-relevant concerns, from a disappearing middle class to police brutality.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• atrocity 
• barbarism 
• barbarity 
• cruelty 
• inhumanity 
• savagery