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brutalization

American  
[broot-uhl-uhz-ay-shuhn, broot-uhl-ahyz-] / ˌbrut əl əzˈeɪ ʃən, ˌbrut əl aɪz- /

noun

plural

brutalizations
  1. the act or process of making or becoming brutal, inhumane, or coarse.


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.

Those Black people who survived the living hell of the Middle Passage and then centuries of enslavement and brutalization were not an undifferentiated mass of brutes as conceptualized by the white popular imagination.

From Salon • Jul. 28, 2023

The art, often stark but occasionally playful, addresses what Rosso calls “terricide”: brutalization of the Earth, women and Indigenous people, and cultures.

From Washington Post • Aug. 11, 2021

“In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated,” Alito wrote, “it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims.”

From Slate • Jun. 27, 2014

"Lucky Guy" follows the story of tabloid reporter Mike McAlary, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for his coverage on the New York City police brutalization of Abner Louima.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 28, 2012

It stands to reason that the fragile tissues of culture are dislocated, and its delicate edges defaced, by such persistive governmental brutalization as the inhabitants have undergone.

From Old Calabria by Douglas, Norman