brutalize

verb

bru·​tal·​ize ˈbrü-tᵊl-ˌīz 

brutalized; brutalizing

transitive verb

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

brutalization

ˌbrü-tᵊl-ə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Synonyms

• animalize
• bestialize
• dehumanize

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

Scared for the victims and their families who were stalked and brutalized in the most vicious way. —Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 23 Oct. 2024

Amiri Baraka was arrested the night after Smith, for illegally possessing weapons, and he was brutalized, too. —Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024

In 1972, Chicago was still fresh in the mind as the site of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, where cops brutalized protesters. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 27 Sep. 2024

Now that the Russian brigade has a reputation for brutalizing prisoners, any Ukrainian troops the brigade overruns are likely to fight to the death. —David Axe, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from French brutaliser, going back to Middle French, from brutal brutal + -iser -ize

First Known Use

circa 1704, in the meaning defined at sense 1