Standard Lemma guide

brutal

adj · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbɹuːtəl/
  • British, Southern, Standard: /ˈbɹʉwtəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, US: /ˈbɹu.təl/
  • Canada, US: [ˈbɹu.ɾəl]
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˈbɹʉːtəl/
  • Australian, New-Zealand: [ˈbɹʉːɾəl]
  • Wales: /ˈbɾɪʊtəl/
  • Scotland: /ˈbɾʉtəl/
  • Northern-Ireland: /ˈbɻʉtəl/
  • rhymes with -uːtəl
  • CMU ARPABET: B R UW1 T AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Savagely violent, vicious, ruthless, or cruel, often in an unintelligent manner.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The game was brutal, but after a bloodbath he finally won.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: barbaric, barbarous, savage, truculent, bowelless, brutal, compassionless, cruel, demonic, despiteful, diabolic, diabolical, fell, incessive, inclement, inhuman, inhumane, malicious, merciless, nasty, nonhumane, pitiless, remorseless, rotten, ruthless, sadistic, spiteful, unbenevolent, unbenign, unkind, unmerciful, unpitiful, unpitying, animalistic, barbarian, barbarious, brutish, Gothic, Gothlike, grim, heathen, heathenish, heathenly, heathenous, incivil, pagan, tenebrose, uncivil, uncivilized, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, uplandish, wolfish

Antonyms: gentle, kind

2

adj

Meaning 2

Crude or unfeeling in manner or speech.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blunt, brusque, cold-blooded

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Harsh; unrelenting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: callous, severe, unyielding, brutal, cold, cold-eyed, cruel, dour, flint-hearted, forbidding, frosty, grim, hard, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, harsh, humorless, icy, iron-hearted, insensate, insensitive, marble-hearted, rigorous, rockhearted, stern, stonehearted, stony, stonyhearted, strict, tough, unsympathetic, unmoved

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Disagreeably precise or penetrating.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

In extreme metal, to describe the speed of the music and the density of riffs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Direct and without attempt to disguise unpleasantness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • brutal honesty

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blunt, unsubtle

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

disagreeably direct and precise

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he spoke with brutal honesty

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a barbarous crime
  • brutal beatings
  • cruel tortures
  • Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks
  • a savage slap
  • vicious kicks

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: barbarous, cruel, fell, roughshod, savage, vicious

Antonyms: none provided

9

adjective satellite

Meaning 9

resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • beastly desires
  • a bestial nature
  • brute force
  • a dull and brutish man
  • bestial treatment of prisoners

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: beastly, bestial, brute(a), brutish

Antonyms: none provided

10

adjective satellite

Meaning 10

harsh

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the brutal summer sun
  • a brutal winter

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unrelenting

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Medieval Latin brutalis (“savage, stupid”), from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”).

Across languages

Translations

54 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: վայրագ (vayrag) — savagely violent
  • Armenian: դաժան (dažan) — savagely violent
  • Azerbaijani: qəddar — savagely violent
  • Azerbaijani: rəhmsiz — savagely violent
  • Azerbaijani: amansız — savagely violent
  • Azerbaijani: zalım — savagely violent
  • Azerbaijani: mərhəmətsiz — savagely violent
  • Belarusian: жо́рсткі (žórstki) — savagely violent
  • Belarusian: брута́льны (brutálʹny) — savagely violent
  • Bulgarian: жесто́к (žestók) — savagely violent
  • Bulgarian: зве́рски (zvérski) — savagely violent
  • Catalan: brutal — savagely violent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 殘忍 /残忍 (cánrěn) — savagely violent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 野蠻 /野蛮 (yěmán) — savagely violent
  • Dutch: bruut — savagely violent
  • Esperanto: brutala — savagely violent
  • Finnish: raaka — savagely violent
  • Finnish: kova — savagely violent
  • Finnish: brutaali — savagely violent
  • French: brutal — savagely violent
  • Galician: brutal — savagely violent
  • Georgian: სასტიკი (sasṭiḳi) — savagely violent
  • Georgian: უხეში (uxeši) — savagely violent
  • Georgian: მხეცური (mxecuri) — savagely violent
  • Georgian: არაადამიანური (araadamianuri) — savagely violent
  • German: brutal — savagely violent
  • Greek: κτηνώδης (ktinódis) — savagely violent
  • Greek: ζωώδης (zoódis) — savagely violent
  • Hindi: बर्बर (barbar) — savagely violent
  • Hindi: क्रूर (krūr) — savagely violent
  • Hungarian: brutális — savagely violent
  • Irish: brúidiúil — savagely violent
  • Italian: brutale — savagely violent
  • Latvian: dzīvniecisks — savagely violent
  • Latvian: brutāls — savagely violent
  • Lithuanian: žvėriškas — savagely violent
  • Māori: tunuhuruhuru — savagely violent
  • Māori: maukino — savagely violent
  • Māori: tūkino — savagely violent
  • Norman: bruta — savagely violent
  • Polish: brutalny — savagely violent
  • Portuguese: brutal — savagely violent
  • Romanian: brutal — savagely violent
  • Russian: жесто́кий (žestókij) — savagely violent
  • Russian: зве́рский (zvérskij) — savagely violent
  • Russian: брута́льный (brutálʹnyj) — savagely violent
  • Scottish Gaelic: brùideil — savagely violent
  • Spanish: brutal — savagely violent
  • Swedish: brutal — savagely violent
  • Ottoman Turkish: خشین (haşin) — savagely violent
  • Ukrainian: жорсто́кий (žorstókyj) — savagely violent
  • Ukrainian: брута́льний (brutálʹnyj) — savagely violent
  • German: brutal — in heavy metal, to describe the speed of the music and the density of riffs
  • Portuguese: brutal — in heavy metal, to describe the speed of the music and the density of riffs