verb
Meaning 1
To inflict brutal violence on.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
brutalise
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈbɹuːt(ə)lʌɪz/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
verb
Meaning 2
To make brutal, cruel or harsh.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To live or behave like a brute.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
become brutal or insensitive and unfeeling
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: brutalize, animalize, animalise
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: change
verb
Meaning 5
make brutal, unfeeling, or inhuman
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- Life in the camps had brutalized him
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: brutalize, animalize, animalise
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: change, alter, modify
verb
Meaning 6
treat brutally
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: brutalize
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: treat, handle, do by
History
Etymology
From brutal + -ise.
Across languages
Translations
14 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: pahoinpidellä (raa’asti) — to inflict violence
- Finnish: piestä — to inflict violence
- French: brutaliser — to inflict violence
- Māori: tunuhuruhuru — to inflict violence
- Māori: whakarekereke — to inflict violence
- Māori: tūkino — to inflict violence
- Māori: kōhuru — to inflict violence
- Swedish: brutalisera — to inflict violence
- Finnish: raaistaa — to make brutal
- French: abrutir — to make brutal
- German: brutalisieren — to make brutal
- Italian: abbrutire — to make brutal
- Latin: effero — to make brutal
- Swedish: brutalisera — to make brutal