1
: suitable to one who lacks intelligence, sensitivity, or compassion : befitting a brute: such as
a
: cruel, cold-blooded
a brutal attack
c
: unpleasantly accurate and incisive
the brutal truth
d
: very bad or unpleasant
a brutal mistake
e
: grossly ruthless or unfeeling
a brutal slander
2
archaic
: typical of beasts : animal
thee, Serpent … to me so friendly grown above the rest of brutal kind—
John Milton
John MiltonSynonyms
Examples of brutal in a Sentence
Sailors sometimes faced brutal punishments like whipping.
a brutal struggle for survival in the wilderness
The writer describes the dangers of drugs with brutal honesty.
The movie is a brutal depiction of the war.
The traffic was brutal on the way to work.
I had a brutal headache this morning.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tyson was known for his brutal knockouts, as his first 19 fights ended early — 12 in the first round.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
In our age of brutal wars, authoritarian politics, cultures of contempt, and technology that promises to replace us with machines, what is left of the idea of the human being?
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
For a Bears team looking to bury the previous week’s stomach-twisting road loss to the Washington Commanders, this proved to be a brutal response.
—Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024
Outrage over his brutal death, depicted in the 2014 film Selma, reportedly motivated advocates to march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama a month later.
—Tracy Scott Forson, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brutal 
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Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
In our age of brutal wars, authoritarian politics, cultures of contempt, and technology that promises to replace us with machines, what is left of the idea of the human being?
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
For a Bears team looking to bury the previous week’s stomach-twisting road loss to the Washington Commanders, this proved to be a brutal response.
—Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024
Outrage over his brutal death, depicted in the 2014 film Selma, reportedly motivated advocates to march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama a month later.
—Tracy Scott Forson, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brutal
Dictionary Entries Near brutal
Cite this Entry
“Brutal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brutal. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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