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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brutality
From the glamour of the show to the brutality of war, the film follows their lives -filled with loss, fear, as well as indomitable courage.
—
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
There was a sauna, a steam room, a Jacuzzi, a hydrotherapy circuit, a cold-plunge pool, beachside massages and ice-cold drinks with little umbrellas in them — countless ways to relax, unplug and rest a body and mind wracked and weary from the rigors and brutalities of his work.
—Mark Lazerus, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
Peltier was a member of the American Indian Movement, a grassroots activist organization that began in Minneapolis in the 1960s to challenge police brutality and the oppression of Indigenous rights.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 18 Feb. 2025
Rosen said the brutality of the massacre, combined with the testimony of Thompson and the other women who were assaulted, horrified the nation.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN, 16 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
There was a sauna, a steam room, a Jacuzzi, a hydrotherapy circuit, a cold-plunge pool, beachside massages and ice-cold drinks with little umbrellas in them — countless ways to relax, unplug and rest a body and mind wracked and weary from the rigors and brutalities of his work.
—Mark Lazerus, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
Peltier was a member of the American Indian Movement, a grassroots activist organization that began in Minneapolis in the 1960s to challenge police brutality and the oppression of Indigenous rights.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 18 Feb. 2025
Rosen said the brutality of the massacre, combined with the testimony of Thompson and the other women who were assaulted, horrified the nation.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN, 16 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
-
He is also charged with third- and fourth-degree weapons charges related to possession of a golf club and knife, as well as animal cruelty related to the death of a family cat.—
Audrey Conklin,
Fox News,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Ex-College Soccer Player Accused of Killing Fellow Athlete Brother, Cat Using Knife, Golf Club: Prosecutors He was also charged with animal cruelty for allegedly killing a cat who lived in the apartment.—
Christine Pelisek,
People.com,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Intentionally or not, these gestures and statements normalize racial hatred, which is the prologue to the kind of racial violence that led to some of humanity’s worst atrocities.—
Andres Oppenheimer,
Miami Herald,
26 Feb. 2025
-
These are war crimes, and no amount of justification in the name of previous atrocities can change that reality.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
All of a sudden, that animalism has been incarnated.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2024
Noun
-
This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2025
-
But also, something more intrinsic — something like her animality.—
Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutality. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share