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

Which ones brutalize a fan base, scarring them for generations? —Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 19 June 2025

By contrast, Pacific Palisades, another area that was brutalized by fire, had already established an official record of its cultural heritage via SurveyLA, a historic resources survey conducted by the city. —Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025

Guards, many of them teenage cadets from police academies, are reportedly ordered to humiliate and brutalize detainees, some barely older than themselves. —Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 20 May 2025

Then there’s Danaher, the worst of all, which has been brutalized by a lack of Chinese biotech offerings. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for brutalize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize