brutalized
|bru/tal/ized|
🇺🇸
/ˈbruːtəlaɪzd/
🇬🇧
/ˈbruːt(ə)laɪzd/
(brutalize)
making cruel
Etymology
'brutalize' originates from English, formed from the adjective 'brutal' plus the verb-forming suffix '-ize' (from French/Latin), where 'brutal' ultimately comes from Latin 'brutalis' and 'brutus' meant 'heavy, dull, stupid'.
'brutalize' changed from the adjective 'brutal' (Old French 'brutal', from Latin 'brutalis') combined with the suffix '-ize' and became the modern English verb 'brutalize' in the 19th century.
Initially it meant 'like a brute' or 'dull/stupid' (from Latin 'brutus'), but over time it evolved into the current meaning 'to make cruel or violent' or 'to treat brutally'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
past tense or past participle form of 'brutalize': treated (someone) with extreme cruelty or violence; beat, torture, or maltreat.
The political prisoners were brutalized by their captors.
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Verb 2
past tense or past participle form of 'brutalize' (figurative use): severely damaged, degraded, or defaced (for example, a place, building, or landscape) through insensitive action.
The historic quarter was brutalized by insensitive redevelopment.
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Adjective 1
having been treated cruelly or violently; physically or mentally damaged as a result of harsh treatment.
After years of war he returned home a brutalized and broken man.
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Last updated: 2025/09/12 21:41