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brutalization

brutalization

1 8.4
An act of treating someone very cruelly or making them cruel through violence
  • noun
  • /ˌbruːtəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
  • Offensive
translation icon : brutalización
  • The documentary highlights the brutalization of innocent civilians during the conflict.

Examples

  • Factors such as the brutalization of the school atmosphere, indifference toward the problems of peers, and a lack of concentration and interest are reflected finally in an environmentally destructive attitude.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The pervasive cynicism, corruption, and brutalization are entrenched in the system and corrode the functioning of the state and the army.

    Academic text (2002)
  • First, I am one of the foremost voices in this country against the brutalization of Arabs.

    Blog text (33)
  • History tells a story of brutalization, exploitation, segregation, expulsion, and for some tribes, annihilation.

    Academic text (1991)
  • However, we do not honor our ancestors and their struggles and sacrifices if we ignore or fail to tell the stories of extreme brutalization, struggle, and suffering that they endured and overcame.

    Academic text (2006)
  • It is hard to see a way out of the violence and get back to the remnants of the peace process unless serious pressure is placed on the Israelis to stop their brutalization of the Palestinian people, and the Palestinians are pressured to stop firing rockets into Israel.

    Blog text (13)
  • Her play charts the reporter's rise, fall, and subsequent return to glory with his Pulitzer-winning coverage of the NYPD's brutalization of Abner Louima in Brooklyn in 1997.

    Blog text (7)
  • The evidence shows that Syria supported, protected, harbored, and subsidized a terrorist group whose modus operandi was the targeting, brutalization, and murder of American and Iraqi citizens.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Instead of framing the struggle around an illegal and cruel occupation, the U.S. mainstream media use a frame that rationalizes Israel's relentless dispossessions, discrimination, and brutalization.

    Academic text (2002)
  • He spoke about the brutalization he witnessed as a child in the war zone.

Synonyms

brutality
vsbrutalization
  • Offensive
187 5.6

Very cruel and violent actions that hurt people

is the wider process that can make people violent or numb through exposure
atrocity
vsbrutalization
151 8.1

A very cruel or violent act that shocks people, often against innocent people

is broader, covering ongoing harm and change in people over time
cruelty
vsbrutalization
  • NSFW
129 3.2

Actions that hurt people or animals on purpose

adds that this can be a process turning people insensitive by repeated exposure
victimization
vsbrutalization
  • Specialized
19 6.8

Treating someone unfairly, often by taking advantage of them

is more about the long-term process that normalizes cruelty in people
barbarism
vsbrutalization
13 8.0

A very cruel act that hurts or kills many people

covers both single acts and longer processes that make people cruel
inhumanity
vsbrutalization
  • NSFW
12 6.6

Very cruel actions that show no care for other people

focuses more on how repeated harm can make people insensitive or cruel
barbarity
vsbrutalization
6 8.4

Very cruel and violent behavior that hurts people

is more about the ongoing process that creates that cruelty in people
dehumanization
vsbrutalization
  • Offensive
4 7.8

Treating people like objects or animals and hurting their dignity

overlaps but is narrower because it focuses on reduced humanity rather than violent exposure
maltreatment
vsbrutalization
  • NSFW
4 7.0

Cruel treatment that hurts people or animals physically and emotionally

is similar but emphasizes the process that produces callousness or brutality
inhuman treatment
vsbrutalization
  • Offensive
1 8.3

An act that causes someone great pain and suffering on purpose

also includes the gradual making of people callous through such treatment
cruelness
vsbrutalization
1 4.5

Wanting to hurt or make others suffer

is about how repeated exposure to harm can produce that painful inclination
inhumanism
vsbrutalization
  • NSFW
9.8

Very cruel treatment that ignores people's feelings and rights

adds the idea of a process that turns people towards such harshness
excruciation
vsbrutalization
  • NSFW
9.9

The act of causing very severe pain to someone

is broader, including long exposure that hardens people, not only pain
torturing
vsbrutalization
  • Offensive
8.6

Deliberately causing severe pain to make someone give information

is wider, also meaning repeated exposure that makes one cruel or numb
animalization
vsbrutalization
  • Offensive
9.9

Making someone seem cruel and less human

is similar but highlights becoming cruel through repeated violent exposure
barbarization
vsbrutalization
9.9

A process that makes people or a society less civilized

is closer to individual change, focusing on how violence hardens people
terrorization
vsbrutalization
  • NSFW
9.3

To cause intense fear in people by threats or violence

is broader, involving repeated violence that can also make people insensitive
atrociousness
vsbrutalization
8.8

Very cruel actions that shock people

is focused on the process that turns behaviour toward that shocking cruelty

Antonyms

155 3.5

To care for and encourage someone or something to grow

2.6

That helps the body or mind become healthy again

How Cruel

dehumanization
  • Offensive
4 7.8
terrorization
  • NSFW
9.3
brutalization
  • Offensive
1 8.4
to abuse
  • NSFW
344 3.7
mistreatment
22 4.0

Surface Forms

brutalization singular

Morphology

brutalization = brutalize (transparent) = brutal + ize + ation

Formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ation' to 'brutalize', which is itself transparently 'brutal' + '-ize'.

Etymology

The word brutalization comes from brutal, which is related to brute and gives the picture of 'animal-like' force or cruelty. So, brutalization is the process of making someone cruel or of treating them with great violence.