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
The police department had a reputation for brutality, especially in the Black community, the report said.
—
Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 4 July 2025
The deadly stabbing attack on the University of Idaho students has remained in the national spotlight due to its brutality and age of the victims.
—Amanda Castro
jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
The brutality of the riot and the understaffing of the center required state troopers and other law enforcement to come into the facility to regain control.
—Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Kenya’s biggest cities have been roiled for days by protesters demonstrating against stagnating growth, soaring inequality, and police brutality.
—semafor.com, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Kristine Phillips, IndyStar, 4 July 2025
The deadly stabbing attack on the University of Idaho students has remained in the national spotlight due to its brutality and age of the victims.
—Amanda Castro
jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
The brutality of the riot and the understaffing of the center required state troopers and other law enforcement to come into the facility to regain control.
—Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Kenya’s biggest cities have been roiled for days by protesters demonstrating against stagnating growth, soaring inequality, and police brutality.
—semafor.com, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
-
Conversely, Colum, devastated by his disability, has a pension for cruelty.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
31 July 2025
-
Not to spoil anything, but the message is that the only cure for cruelty is not revenge, but decency.—
Jesse David Fox,
Vulture,
30 July 2025
Noun
-
On August 3, 2014, Daesh launched a devastating attack on Sinjar, inflicting widespread atrocities on the Yazidi community.—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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The Vietnam War was lost after squandering more than $1 trillion in current dollars, and suffering more than 55,000 American military deaths, millions of Vietnamese casualties, the My Lai massacre, napalm girl and countless other atrocities.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
24 July 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 5 Aug. 2025.
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