brutish

[broo-tish]

adjective

1. brutal; cruel.

2. gross; coarse.

3. carnal; sensual.

4. uncivilized.

5. bestial; like an animal.

brutish

/ ˈbruːtɪʃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a brute or brutes; animal

2. coarse; cruel; stupid

Other Word Forms

• brutishly adverb
• brutishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brutish¹

First recorded in 1485–95; brute ¹ + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Set amid the world of international showjumping, it introduced her hero: Rupert Campbell-Black - a brutish cad who treats women and horses cruelly, before mellowing slightly through the influence of his second wife, Taggie O'Hara.

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But in screenwriter Noah Pink’s melodramatic imagining of incidents both well-documented and mysterious, one can see this Hollywood veteran on a mission to loosen the shackles of his reputation and have some nasty, brutish fun.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“There’s not much there and it’s certainly not intellectually or spiritually illuminating in any way, shape or form. They are brutish entertainers, and that’s it.”

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He comes from a mangled life and he’s very cunning and very brutish.

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Ali, a massive underdog, had cast himself as the charismatic good guy and Foreman the brutish villain.

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Related Words

• atrocious 
• barbarous 
• bitter 
• brutal 
• callous 
• cold-blooded 
• evil 
• harsh 
• hateful 
• heartless 
• inhuman 
• inhumane 
• merciless 
• painful 
• relentless 
• ruthless 
• sadistic 
• spiteful 
• tyrannical 
• unkind