1
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
the police were accused of brutality for using excessive force in making arrests
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brutishness
the manifestation of the traits or the gratification of the appetites of a lower animal
the disconcerting ease with which the people adopted the brutality of the enemy invaders
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutality
Lee: The Past Ever Haunts the Present A new film shows how American photographer Lee Miller used the camera to bring the brutalities of World War II to the homefront.
—
JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
The United States on Tuesday accused a Sudanese paramilitary group and its proxies of committing genocide, singling them out in a conflict of unchecked brutality and drawing fresh attention to the scale of atrocities being perpetrated in Africa’s largest war.
—Declan Walsh, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
The limited 6-part series was written by the same screenwriter who penned The Revenant, and the show very much follows that film’s style and overall sense of brutality and bleakness.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
And the plotting didn’t take place in strange, distant areas: Among those charged with acts of brutality or acting as conspirators in the insurrection were residents of Ormond Beach, Titusville, Kissimmee and other familiar, nearby cities.
—Orlando Sentinel and New York Daily News Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for brutality 
JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
The United States on Tuesday accused a Sudanese paramilitary group and its proxies of committing genocide, singling them out in a conflict of unchecked brutality and drawing fresh attention to the scale of atrocities being perpetrated in Africa’s largest war.
—Declan Walsh, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
The limited 6-part series was written by the same screenwriter who penned The Revenant, and the show very much follows that film’s style and overall sense of brutality and bleakness.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
And the plotting didn’t take place in strange, distant areas: Among those charged with acts of brutality or acting as conspirators in the insurrection were residents of Ormond Beach, Titusville, Kissimmee and other familiar, nearby cities.
—Orlando Sentinel and New York Daily News Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
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Saline County sheriff’s deputies, responding to an animal cruelty report entered the Fullen’s field after observing about 50 cattle, many with calves, with minimal grass to graze on, according to an affidavit.—
Jonathan Shorman,
Kansas City Star,
16 Jan. 2025
-
Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony under New York State law and carries a sentence of up to two years if convicted.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Non-Burman, non-Buddhist communities are marginalized, oppressed, and subjected to a campaign of violence involving a litany of atrocity crimes.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
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The State Department, for instance, issued a formal atrocity determination in 2023 that named Ethiopian forces responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.—
Sarah Yager,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Hope is something that Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri can related to, having explored the dualities of hope and despair (as well as lightness and darkness, and fluidity and animalism) in her spring 2023 collection.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
WWD,
22 Jan. 2025
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All of a sudden, that animalism has been incarnated.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2024
Noun
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But also, something more intrinsic — something like her animality.—
Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2025
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The other characters are getting animalities, as well: Peacemaker gets the eagle, Omni-Man the Hail Mary kaiju from Invincible, and Johnny Cage becomes a shark.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
23 Sep. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near brutality
Cite this Entry
“Brutality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutality. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
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