brutalize
bru|tal|ize /br'uːtəlaɪz/ (brutalizes brutalizing brutalized)
in BRIT, also use brutalise
1 [VERB] V n, V-ed
If an unpleasant experience brutalizes someone, it makes them cruel or violent.
Here's a man who has brutalized his own people...
He was brutalized by the experience of being in prison.
2 [VERB] V n
If one person brutalizes another, they treat them in a cruel or violent way.
... a 15th century explorer who brutalized people and enslaved them.
in BRIT, also use brutalise
1 [VERB] V n, V-ed
If an unpleasant experience brutalizes someone, it makes them cruel or violent.
Here's a man who has brutalized his own people...
He was brutalized by the experience of being in prison.
2 [VERB] V n
If one person brutalizes another, they treat them in a cruel or violent way.
... a 15th century explorer who brutalized people and enslaved them.