To treat someone with violence and cruelty, or to make someone brutal and insensitive to suffering.
From brutal + -ize (suffix meaning to make or become). First recorded in English in the 16th century, it initially meant to make beast-like in character.
The word captures something psychology has confirmed: violence actually changes the perpetrator's brain and heart, making them less human—it's not just about harming the victim but corrupting the attacker.
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