brutalism

[ broot-l-iz-uhm ]

/ ˈbrut lˌɪz əm /

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noun

Architecture. a style of modernist architecture, originating in the 1950s, characterized by exposed structural materials and plain, massive, often steeply angular geometric forms, typically of unfinished concrete.

a style in art, furniture, jewelry, etc., influenced by this architecture and often characterized by outsized elements or the use of unfinished or roughly textured materials.

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Origin of brutalism

First recorded in 1795–1805, for literal sense; brutal + -ism; in reference to architecture first used by British architects Alison Smithson (1928–93) and Peter Smithson (1923–2003) in 1953

OTHER WORDS FROM brutalism

bru·tal·ist, noun, adjective

Words nearby brutalism

Brussels lace, Brussels sprout, brussen, brut, brutal, brutalism, brutality, brutalize, brute, brute force, brute-force attack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brutalism in a sentence

Its chairman, Justin Shubow, has railed repeatedly and absurdly against brutalism, the style in which Bunshaft designed the Hirshhorn and its garden.
How a rock wall and pool of water have thrown a wrench into the redesign of Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden|Philip Kennicott|April 16, 2021|Washington Post
Brutalism avant-la-lettre, and as usual, I love all that concrete.
A Slaughterhouse with Style|Blake Gopnik|October 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
High and long sustained, the sublime anthem rolled above the battle and its brutalism.
The Prince of India, Volume II|Lew. Wallace
It is enough to say of this old heathen dream, that there never was such a state of savage brutalism known since man was man.
Continental Monthly , Vol IV, Issue VI, December 1863|Various

Its bald brutalism flourishes freely only when covered and disguised.
Ethics|John Dewey and James Hayden Tufts

British Dictionary definitions for brutalism

brutalism

/ (ˈbruːtəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

an austere style of architecture characterized by emphasis on such structural materials as undressed concrete and unconcealed service pipesAlso called: new brutalism

Derived forms of brutalism

brutalist, noun, adjective

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