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
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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
From a single egg eaten in haste to opulent meals shared freely, Reichert charts her family’s passage through brutality and antisemitism toward a greater understanding of the past.
—
Norman Weinstein, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2025
That’s a Shawn Ryan [decision in the writing], and then my job is to act out that turmoil and choreograph the desperation and brutality.
—Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2025
Zoom in: Activists have long claimed that the charges against Peltier were part of a larger fight against AIM, a 1960s radical movement out of Minneapolis that sought to fight police brutality and discrimination.
—Russell Contreras, Axios, 20 Jan. 2025
There was plenty of testimony of past episodes of widespread regime brutality, such as the crushing of a Shiite uprising in 1991.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for brutality 
Norman Weinstein, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Feb. 2025
That’s a Shawn Ryan [decision in the writing], and then my job is to act out that turmoil and choreograph the desperation and brutality.
—Max Gao, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2025
Zoom in: Activists have long claimed that the charges against Peltier were part of a larger fight against AIM, a 1960s radical movement out of Minneapolis that sought to fight police brutality and discrimination.
—Russell Contreras, Axios, 20 Jan. 2025
There was plenty of testimony of past episodes of widespread regime brutality, such as the crushing of a Shiite uprising in 1991.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
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Kyle Vigneault, 27, faces charges of first-degree manslaughter, risk of injury to a child and cruelty to persons, according to the Norwalk Police Department.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
13 Feb. 2025
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Season 2 Has Answers The Genius of Severance's Grand Central Pop-Up Ben Stiller on Severance's Creator Dan Erickson The thing that ends up giving Helena away is her cruelty.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Israel previously launched a war effort after terrorists perpetrated atrocities including murders, rapes, and kidnappings during a heinous attack in 2023.—
Alex Nitzberg,
Fox News,
13 Feb. 2025
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Indeed, generations of Chinese have viewed Japan as an enemy, with many elders still harboring resentment over atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during World War II.—
Ann Scott Tyson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
7 Feb. 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 21 Feb. 2025.
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