brute

[ broot ]

See synonyms for brute on Thesaurus.com

noun

a nonhuman creature; beast.
a brutal, insensitive, or crude person.

the animal qualities, desires, etc., of humankind: Father felt that rough games brought out the brute in us.

adjective

animal; not human.
not characterized by intelligence or reason; irrational.

characteristic of animals; of brutal character or quality.
savage; cruel: brute force.
carnal; sensual.

Origin of brute

First recorded in 1425–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin brūtus “heavy, devoid of feeling, irrational”

synonym study For brute

1. See animal.

Other words from brute

brutelike, adjective
brutely, adverb
bruteness, noun

Other definitions for brute (2 of 2)

brute²

[ broot ]

verb (used with object),brut·ed, brut·ing.

to shape (a diamond) by rubbing with another diamond or a diamond chip.

Origin of brute

First recorded in 1900–05; back formation from bruting “rough hewing (of a diamond),” partial translation of French brutage literally, “a roughing,” equivalent to brut “rough, raw” + -age; see origin at brute¹, -age

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use brute in a sentence

One way to do this was through brute force coding — searching for the one number less than 215,940 that had a remainder of 19 when divided by 61, 32 when divided by 60 and 1 when divided by 59.
Can You Make An Unfair Coin Fair? | Zach Wissner-Gross | November 6, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
Labs like OpenAI seem to stand by this approach, building bigger and bigger machine-learning models that might achieve AGI by brute force.
Artificial general intelligence: Are we close, and does it even make sense to try? | Will Heaven | October 15, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Today, they are increasingly treated via fecal transplant — a brute-force attempt to replace an unhealthy microbiome with a healthy one.
A Physicist’s Approach to Biology Brings Ecological Insights | Gabriel Popkin | October 13, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
It offers the brute force you need somedays to anchor your focus to what’s more important.
Top 15 Chrome extensions for social media marketers | Bhavik Soni | September 23, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
It’s not like Instagram, where you have to buy your way in with brute force.
Unpacking the TikTok algorithm: Three reasons why it’s the most addictive social network | Brian Freeman | September 11, 2020 | Search Engine Watch

Stones of fancy shape, such as square, or cushion shape, have to be formed in part by hand rubbing or "bruting" as it is called.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public | Frank Bertram Wade

British Dictionary definitions for brute

brute

/ (bruːt) /

noun

- any animal except man; beast; lower animal
- (as modifier): brute nature
a brutal person

adjective(prenominal)

wholly instinctive or physical (esp in the phrases brute strength, brute force)
without reason or intelligence

coarse and grossly sensual

Origin of brute

C15: from Latin brūtus heavy, irrational; related to gravis heavy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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