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Nouns
Etymology
Origin of brutality
Explanation
Brutality is extreme cruelty, deliberate violent meanness. Avoid being the giver or receiver of brutality if you wish to remain a happy human. Brutality comes from brutal (savage, fierce), plus -ity which makes it a noun. It’s the state of being a brute. Many criminals — especially murderers, rapists, and abusers — are guilty of brutality. Police brutality is what happens when the cops use extreme unnecessary force. Brutality is a strong word — just slapping someone isn't quite brutality. Brutality is more like beating a person with a tire iron. Brutality is also the name of a death metal band from Florida.
Vocabulary lists containing brutality
Bronx Masquerade
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All American Boys
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who has remained neutral, warned that the "brutality" and "ugliness" of the campaign could make it harder for Democrats to unite afterward.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
And in the small role of Bianca, with whom Cassio has a dalliance, the terrific Rebecca Ana Peña makes a fiery impression, savagely fighting back against Iago’s brutality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Spike Lee’s masterpiece was met with hand-wringing when it arrived in theaters 37 summers ago, with white critics fretting how “urban audiences” would react to its shocking ending of brutality and angry protest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Referees will be told to look for a "clear and deliberate action" which has "excessive force and/or brutality".
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Despite the brutality, the students were committed to nonviolence and for the most part bore the insults and indignities without striking back.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
After his death in 1625, England experienced civil war, the execution of Charles I and the brutalities of Oliver Cromwell’s rule.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
A couple of the most striking shots of the original two "Godfather" movies, for instance, juxtaposes the brutalities of America in the foreground while the Statue of Liberty stands tall in the distant background.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2024
For many, Garland’s announcement and the brutalities uncovered in the investigation are likely to be met with myriad emotions.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2023
But efforts to come to terms with the brutalities from one of the bloodiest wars in modern history have triggered intense emotions in both the United States and South Korea.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2023
For Christmas, Mrs. Levy always compiled not a gift list but rather a list of the injustices and brutalities she had suffered since August.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
