verb
-
to make or become brutal
-
(tr) to treat brutally
Other Word Forms
- brutalization noun
- overbrutalization noun
- overbrutalize verb (used with object)
- unbrutalize verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of brutalize
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.
Whether or not he decides to appear at the trial, scheduled to begin later this year, the A.G. can use his videoed deposition testimony to brutalize him the same way Carroll’s lawyers did.
From Slate • May 11, 2023
Specifically, a few decades of drought pushed the Huns to the brink, forcing them to brutalize others in pursuit of survival.
From Salon • Dec. 24, 2022
They built a fledgling democracy with elected leaders who often failed but didn’t brutalize their people as so many regimes in the region do.
From Washington Post • Aug. 17, 2021
“It will consume government. It will brutalize people. It will cost taxpayers millions of dollars,” he said.
From Washington Times • Aug. 10, 2021
The weight of the sand began to brutalize her shoulders.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
