brutality

C2+ Topic:Crime & Justice

US /bruˈtæləti/ UK /bruːˈtæləti/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
savage physical violence or cruelty

Witnesses described the brutality of the attack in chilling detail.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · savage physical violence or... cruelty savagery barbarity ferocity viciousness ruthlessness inhumanity

Opposites

gentleness kindness mercy humanity compassion

Word family

Related forms brutal brute brutalize

Etymology

From brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + -ity; ultimately from Latin brutus, the source also of brute.

brutus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice Word Formation & Derivatives

# brutality

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** bruˈtæləti
**IPA (UK):** bruːˈtæləti

## Meanings
1. savage physical violence or cruelty

## Examples
- Witnesses described the brutality of the attack in chilling detail.

## Synonyms
- cruelty
- savagery
- barbarity
- ferocity
- viciousness
- ruthlessness
- inhumanity

## Antonyms
- gentleness
- kindness
- mercy
- humanity
- compassion

## Related Forms
- brutal
- brute
- brutalize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brutus

## Etymology
From brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + -ity; ultimately from Latin brutus, the source also of brute.

## AI Etymology
Brutality comes from brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + -ity; ultimately from Latin brutus, the source also of brute. The historical trail runs through brutus in Latin. Morphologically, brutality is transparent: it draws on brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + -ity. Used as a noun, brutality now means "savage physical violence or cruelty", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as brutal, brute, and brutalize. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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