1
: resembling, befitting, or typical of a brute or beast
brutish strength
brutish violence
But its skull is curiously brutish, with thickened braincase walls, massive browridges, and evidence of powerful neck muscles. All in all, H. erectus fits the familiar stereotype of the … caveman.—
Matt Cartmill
Matt Cartmill2
a
: strongly and grossly sensual
brutish gluttony
He thinks he is a poetic amorist; he is a brutish sensualist.—Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
b
: showing little intelligence or sensibility
a brutish lack of understanding
Life without enlightenment is nasty and brutish, yet it is the natural condition …—Frank Kermode
Frank Kermode
brutishly
adverb
brutishness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of brutish in a Sentence
She is married to a brutish, drunken slob.
as the months of recurrent combat dragged on, the daily existence of the soldiers became increasingly brutish
Recent Examples on the Web
In the universe of Tina Fey, life in high school is nasty, brutish, and endlessly cyclical.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
Most people used to experience lives that were nasty, brutish, and short.
—Kishore Mahbubani, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2016
The case involves a brutish boyfriend (Gabriel Basso, who played J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy… but don’t hold that against him) accused of beating his girlfriend (Francesca Eastwood) to death.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2024
The long-haired blond and brutish god of symbiotes, Knull is locked away on an alien planet, and the bonding of Eddie and Venom is the literal key keeping him from escaping and unleashing a wave of annihilation.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brutish 
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.
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
Most people used to experience lives that were nasty, brutish, and short.
—Kishore Mahbubani, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2016
The case involves a brutish boyfriend (Gabriel Basso, who played J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy… but don’t hold that against him) accused of beating his girlfriend (Francesca Eastwood) to death.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2024
The long-haired blond and brutish god of symbiotes, Knull is locked away on an alien planet, and the bonding of Eddie and Venom is the literal key keeping him from escaping and unleashing a wave of annihilation.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brutish
Dictionary Entries Near brutish
Cite this Entry
“Brutish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brutish. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
brutish
adjective
brut·ish
ˈbrüt-ish 
1
: resembling, befitting, or typical of a brute or beast
lived a hard and brutish life
2
b
: showing little intelligence or sense
brutish lack of understanding
brutishly
adverb
brutishness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share