brutalize

[ broot-l-ahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, bru·tal·ized, bru·tal·iz·ing.

1. to make brutal.
2. to treat (someone) with brutality.

brutalize

/ ˈbruːtəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to make or become brutal
2. tr to treat brutally

Derived Forms

• ˌbrutaliˈzation, noun

Other Words From

• brutal·i·zation noun
• over·brutal·i·zation noun
• over·brutal·ize verb (used with object) overbrutalized overbrutalizing
• un·brutal·ize verb (used with object) unbrutalized unbrutalizing

Word History and Origins

Origin of brutalize¹

First recorded in 1695–1705; brutal + -ize

Example Sentences

It’s natural to joke about 1,000 containers of lubricant — that is a hell of a lot of lube — but it shouldn’t be a substitute for or a distraction from what the charges actually allege: That a rich and powerful man used his business and many of his employees to systematically drug, assault, brutalize, threaten, kidnap and exploit people for years and call it a “party.”

From Los Angeles Times

And regardless of whether it immediately repairs fissures inside the party, a shift would be better, from both a strategic and moral perspective, than pretending that Israel is not in fact using American weapons and largesse to brutalize the Palestinian people for the crimes of Hamas in clear violation of the laws of war and basic human decency.

From Slate

The text thread, the contents of which have not previously been reported, shows that for years the deputies chattered routinely about ways to humiliate and brutalize criminal suspects.

From New York Times

“That's the narrative — you compare them to 1930s Nazi youth on campuses in Germany, and then it's OK to brutalize them. That's a very dangerous slippery slope.”

From Salon

"We have to change the narrative. If you demonize these kids, if you compare them to 1930s Nazi youth on campuses in Germany, then it's OK to brutalize them."

From Salon

Related Words

• maltreat
• mistreat
• torment