brutalize
verb
bru·tal·ize
ˈbrü-tᵊl-ˌīz 
brutalized; brutalizing
1
: to make brutal, unfeeling, or inhuman
temperaments brutalized by poverty and disease
2
: to treat brutally
an accord not to brutalize prisoners of war
Examples of brutalize in a Sentence
a young man brutalized by the experience of war
The prisoners claimed to have been brutalized by their captors.
Recent Examples on the Web
Images of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators being tear-gassed, shot, and otherwise brutalized spread around the globe.
—
Ben Ehrenreich, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
That morning, Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized and horrifically murdered.
—NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
This despite the fact that Russia has invaded and brutalized a neighbor — committing mass murder, mass torture, mass rape, mass kidnapping — in an effort to subjugate the nation.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 18 Feb. 2025
There were images of riots, burning cities and Black people brutalizing white people.
—James Bandler, ProPublica, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
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Ben Ehrenreich, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
That morning, Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized and horrifically murdered.
—NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
This despite the fact that Russia has invaded and brutalized a neighbor — committing mass murder, mass torture, mass rape, mass kidnapping — in an effort to subjugate the nation.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 18 Feb. 2025
There were images of riots, burning cities and Black people brutalizing white people.
—James Bandler, ProPublica, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutalize
Cite this Entry
“Brutalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brutalize. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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