Other Word Forms
- overbrutality noun
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.
Phrenology’s popularity plummeted after the Civil War; Mr. Stob suggests that the conflict’s extreme brutality undercut practical phrenology’s grand aspirations for self-improvement.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
In October 2020, she had told him not to go out as widespread anti-police brutality demonstrations, known as the End Sars protests, swept into his area of Lagos, Nigeria's bustling commercial heart.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
Throw in the fact that Ryan Coogler’s historical horror smash “Sinners” was up for a record 16 awards, and genuine, defiant progress in the face of constant inhuman brutality seemed like a real possibility.
From Salon • Mar. 16, 2026
Ryan Coogler launched his career with an indie look at police brutality in America.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
But, to her surprise, his face, awake and animate, conveyed none of the brutality that had been her first impression.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
