1
: suitable to one who lacks intelligence, sensitivity, or compassion : befitting a brute: such as
a
: cruel, cold-blooded
a brutal attack
c
: unpleasantly accurate and incisive
the brutal truth
d
: very bad or unpleasant
a brutal mistake
e
: grossly ruthless or unfeeling
a brutal slander
2
archaic
: typical of beasts : animal
thee, Serpent … to me so friendly grown above the rest of brutal kind—
John Milton
John MiltonSynonyms
Examples of brutal in a Sentence
Sailors sometimes faced brutal punishments like whipping.
a brutal struggle for survival in the wilderness
The writer describes the dangers of drugs with brutal honesty.
The movie is a brutal depiction of the war.
The traffic was brutal on the way to work.
I had a brutal headache this morning.
Recent Examples on the Web
Read: The brutal cynicism of Lost in America still resonates
Stone co-starred with Brooks in The Muse, the 1999 film—which Brooks also wrote and directed—about a director who finds out that Hollywood’s best ideas all come from one woman.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2024
Simpson was tried in connection with the brutal 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman at her Los Angeles, Calif., home.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brutal 
Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2024
Simpson was tried in connection with the brutal 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman at her Los Angeles, Calif., home.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brutal
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brutal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near brutal
Cite this Entry
“Brutal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brutal. Accessed 5 May. 2024.
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