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
Many of the Pueblos focused their animosity on the clerical authorities who justified the brutality of the Spanish conquest.
—
Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
But the beauty of figure skating blossoms from its brutality.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
That sensitivity goes a long way in the trailer that is otherwise dominated by bloodshed and brutality.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
There is little dispute that Maduro was an evil, corrupt autocrat who undermined Venezuelan elections, with his brutality leading to the flight of 8 million refugees and impoverishing his resource-rich land.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutality
Noun
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The American people must reject this cruelty and extremism.—
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Does their lack of kindness grant you permission to respond with equal insensitivity or even cruelty?—
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.—
Noun
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These satellite images from late October appearing to show bodies in the streets and bloodstains on the ground, gruesome signs of the atrocities visible from space.—
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Raymond’s team has been tracking atrocities in Sudan using satellite imagery from NASA and commercial sources.—
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.—
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All of a sudden, that animalism has been incarnated.—
Noun
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In other words, humans can act against the animal component of their nature and manifest their humanity by rejecting their animality.—
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This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality.—
Cite this Entry
“Brutality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutality. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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