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
All of this may sound hopelessly naive when extremists celebrate brutality.
—
Emily Chamlee-Wright, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2026
Critics, meanwhile, brought up police brutality, citing the killing of George Floyd, the video of which spurred national outrage.
—Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
Silence in the face of such brutalities and atrocious crimes is not an option.
—Hamid Kashani, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
But with Shakespeare, whose characters felt so familiar inside rules of prose and iambic pentameter, Ming-Trent found a poetry partner to hep him through life’s brutalities.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Emily Chamlee-Wright, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2026
Critics, meanwhile, brought up police brutality, citing the killing of George Floyd, the video of which spurred national outrage.
—Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
Silence in the face of such brutalities and atrocious crimes is not an option.
—Hamid Kashani, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
But with Shakespeare, whose characters felt so familiar inside rules of prose and iambic pentameter, Ming-Trent found a poetry partner to hep him through life’s brutalities.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
-
One has simply grown so accustomed to his cruelty that, in an episode with so many other people acting on their worst impulses, Stephen stands out for momentarily acting on a good one.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Gray faces 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and multiple counts of second-degree cruelty to children.—
La'Tasha Givens,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Likewise, young Waller proves a revelation, capable of communicating Danny’s vulnerability and brutishness on the turn of a dime.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And Brundage ensures that his readers will not dismiss the record of prison atrocities.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
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The Buckley case spawned other loopholes from Congress and the courts over the years, directly culminating in the 2010 atrocity of the Citizens United case.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
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
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All of a sudden, that animalism has been incarnated.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2024
Noun
-
In other words, humans can act against the animal component of their nature and manifest their humanity by rejecting their animality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Nov. 2025
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This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutality. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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