brutalize

the word 'brutalize' is built upon the adjective 'brutal', which originates from the latin brutalis, meaning 'like a brute'. this, in turn, derives from brutus, signifying 'heavy, stupid, irrational', a term applied to animals and, by extension, to humans behaving without reason. the suffix '-ize', with its lineage in greek verb-forming elements, was productively attached in english to create transitive verbs meaning 'to make into' or 'to treat as'. thus, the literal construction 'to make brutal' logically evolved into the modern abstract senses of treating someone with extreme cruelty or causing someone to become cruel.

Structure: brutal (savage) + ize (verb suffix) brutal (from latin brutalis, meaning 'like a brute, savage'; functions as the adjectival root conveying the core meaning of savagery). ize (from greek -izein via latin -izare and french -iser; a verb-forming suffix meaning 'to make, to become, to treat in a specific manner').