brutal
Americanadjective
-
savage; cruel; inhuman.
a brutal attack on the village.
- Antonyms:
- kind
-
crude; coarse.
brutal language.
-
harsh; ferocious.
brutal criticism; brutal weather.
-
taxing, demanding, or exhausting.
They're having a brutal time making ends meet.
-
irrational; unreasoning.
-
of or relating to lower animals.
- Antonyms:
- human
adjective
-
cruel; vicious; savage
-
extremely honest or coarse in speech or manner
-
harsh; severe; extreme
brutal cold
Synonym Usage
See cruel.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of brutal
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin brūtālis; equivalent to brute 1 + -al 1
Explanation
Use brutal to describe something beastly and harsh, like training for a triathlon, a really cold winter in the Arctic, or a mean bouncer at a club who throws people out for no reason. First used in the mid 15th century to refer to the brutish nature of animals, brutal is now also used to describe other things like human behavior, weather, or even music. “Rock ‘n Roll,” said Frank Sinatra, “is the most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear.” If someone is brutal, watch out — she's violent and mean. The truth can be brutal, too, if it's something you don't want to hear.
Vocabulary lists containing brutal
Wintry Words
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The Crossover
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Sugar Changed the World
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lee Chang-dong’s superb “Possible Love,” for instance, generates its explosively intimate finale by first investing us in the saga of strikers reeling from a brutal government crackdown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
It’s also brutal for growing the game among casual fans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
He arrived in the U.S. at age 19, just over two years after he was forced to join the Salvadoran army at the outbreak of the nation’s brutal civil war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
"Nine years after Daphne's brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed."
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Despite these brutal acts, the Powhatans continued to resist encroachment.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
