brutality

[ broo-tal-i-tee ]

/ bruˈtæl ɪ ti /

the quality of being brutal; cruelty; savagery.

a brutal act or practice.

Origin of brutality

First recorded in 1540–50; brutal + -ity

o·ver·bru·tal·i·ty, noun, plural o·ver·bru·tal·i·ties.

Giving in to the demands of such a leader will, without question, invite greater aggression and brutality.

The Sony Hack and America’s Craven Capitulation To Terror |David Keyes |December 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Brutality must be rejected as a “mistake,” but simultaneously preserved as a possible policy option.

John Brennan’s Tortured Defense of the CIA’s Torture Program |Shane Harris |December 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Chicago provides crime reporters and amateur scanner-chasers with more grit and brutality than they can handle combined.

Chicago’s Real-Life 'Nightcrawler' |Justin Glawe |November 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In a candid interview, she compares the brutality of life in North Korea to the Holocaust.

How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State |Lizzie Crocker |October 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The last six months have been a stark reminder of the brutality that lurks at the boundaries of civilized society.

All Aboard the USS Persecution Complex |Candida Moss, Joel Baden |October 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I felt what a brute I must have been, but that kind of brutality has been knocked out of me long ago.

The First Violin |Jessie Fothergill
But there were several in the camp (Mountain among the number) whom this brutality revolted.

The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. XII (of 25) |Robert Louis Stevenson
On the other hand, if he were in any way remiss in his duties, he was flogged with a brutality worthy of the Dark Ages.

Abigail Adams and Her Times |Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
It is a war which must ever be odious in history, beyond the outrages of brutality which disgrace other nations and times.

Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 1 (of 20) |Charles Sumner
The king who died in this house was that young Dane who appears to have been an incarnation of the ideal Danish brutality.

South London |Sir Walter Besant