brutally

adverb

Definition of brutallynext
as in harshly
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering the prisoners were treated brutally at the hands of the guards

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brutally It was forgotten by the time Banks ran around the field celebrating, but a brutally slow start made the first quarter utterly forgettable. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026 When three bodies are found brutally torn apart in a house, Meg (Deborah Ann Woll) is informed by Ian (Will Hochman), the detective working the case, that one of them is her dad, who has been missing for 36 years. — David Faris, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026 Each episode, the brutally honest Ramsay comes in to help the struggling restaurant fix its problems or its negative image, and in turn the restaurants get publicity from being on a national television show. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026 She’d been brutally murdered, and Icelandic police needed to know why. — HubSpot, 1 Oct. 2026 The images revealed uterine fibroids, which finally explained 37 years of brutally heavy periods. — Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 29 Sep. 2026 His global reputation was built primarily on serving as the family lawyer, after his cousin Jamal, the journalist, was so brutally murdered by the regime in Riyadh. — Noah Shachtman, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026 Amid the jubilation of the liberation, there is a darker side, as women who fraternized with German soldiers are tracked down and brutally publicly shamed. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026 The other was about fear, grief and five young lives brutally taken far too soon. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutally
  1. harshly
  2. severely
  3. oppressively
  4. hard
Adverb
  • But their complaints come as Lecornu's government seeks to rein in public spending to appease skittish bond markets, which have punished France more harshly than many of its peers this year, amid a global bond market rout.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • His government has also been harshly criticized for a migration crisis in Ceuta.
    — JOSEPH WILSON, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • The attacks and the air raid alerts that accompany them have severely disrupted life in the city, forcing millions to constantly seek shelter and paralyzing the capital’s businesses and transport networks.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026
  • While much of the AI safety debate has centered on losing control of AI, Altman said restricting access to AI too severely in the name of safety could be harmful too.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of severely
Adverb
  • The summer had seen Europe endure an oppressively dry, hot summer, which had seen wildfires spring up across the continent.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • After a bit of a reprieve from an oppressively hot summer, another heat wave is set to scorch Southern California this week.
    — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of oppressively
Adverb
  • And as direct as the ad is (more on it in a moment), the film goes even harder.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Beshear has also campaigned and advertised hard for Democratic candidate Zach Dembo, who is taking on GOP candidate Ralph Alvarado in the open 6th District seat around Lexington.
    — Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of hard

Browse Nearby Words

brutalizing
brutally
brute
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brutally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutally. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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