brutalize

/ˈbruːtəlaɪz/ (bre, ipa) · [brˈutəlˌaɪz] /ˈbruːtəlaɪz/ (ame, ipa) · [brˈutəlˌaɪz] /ˈbrü-tᵊl-ˌīz How to pronounce brutalize (audio)/ (ame, mw)

brutalize — verb

  • brutalizepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • brutalizeshe / she / it
  • brutalizedpast simple
  • brutalizing-ing form

1. to hurt, control, or punish someone through repeated cruel treatment or violence

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to hurt, control, or punish someone through repeated cruel treatment or violence.

例句

The guards brutalized prisoners during the winter transfer to the mountain camp.

brutalize + prisoners

After the arrest, officers brutalized the teenager in a windowless interview room.

brutalize + a victim

同義詞
  • abuse

    broader and common for cruel treatment, whether physical or emotional

  • mistreat

    slightly milder and less strongly violent than brutalize

  • torture

    narrower and stronger, often stressing deliberate physical pain

反義詞
  • protect

    means keeping someone safe from harm

  • spare

    means choosing not to harm or punish someone

  • treat humanely

    stresses decent and compassionate treatment

文法句型

brutalize + prisoners/villagers/children

be brutalized by + guards/police/gangs

用法筆記

Usually takes a human object and often appears in reports about police, war, prisons, or gangs. The focus is on the cruel acts done to the victim, not on the victim's later emotional change.

常見錯誤

❌Online comments brutalized the singer.
✅The police brutalized the singer after the concert.
💡brutalize usually suggests severe cruel treatment or violence, not just harsh words.

2. to make someone grow colder, harsher, and less able to feel pity for others.

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

to make someone grow colder, harsher, and less able to feel pity for others.

例句

Years in the camp brutalized the recruits until pain felt ordinary.

experience brutalized + people

The civil war brutalized children who grew up surrounded by executions.

war brutalized + people

同義詞
  • harden

    broader and can describe becoming emotionally tougher without cruelty

  • dehumanize

    stresses stripping away normal human feeling or dignity

  • coarsen

    focuses on making attitudes rougher or less sensitive

反義詞
  • humanize

    means making someone more sympathetic or humane

  • soften

    suggests becoming gentler or less severe

  • civilize

    emphasizes teaching restraint and social behavior

文法句型

war/prison/poverty + brutalize + someone

be brutalized by + years of violence

用法筆記

The subject is usually a harsh system, long experience, or repeated violence such as war, prison, or street life. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense highlights the lasting hardening effect on the person, not the acts themselves.

常見錯誤

❌One rude customer brutalized the waiter.
✅Years of abuse at work brutalized the waiter.
💡this sense describes a hardening change over time, not one brief unpleasant event.