ˈbrüd. ə l, -üt ə l adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French, from Medieval Latin brutalis, from brutus brute, animal + Latin -alis -al — more at brute
1. archaic : of, belonging to, or typical of beasts or animals as distinguished from man : animal
thee, Serpent … to me so friendly grown above the rest of brutal kind — John Milton
2. : befitting or resembling a brute: as
a. : stemming from or based on crude animal instincts : grossly ruthless
a brutal attack
b. : devoid of mercy or compassion : cruel and cold-blooded
blunt and occasionally brutal , but … never niggling and peevish — Cleanth Brooks
c. : harsh and severe : unpleasant to a degree that is nearly unbearable
another summer of brutal heat
two brutal winters in a row
d. : unpleasantly accurate and incisive : undeniable but harsh
the brutal truth
the brutal facts must be faced and action taken
Synonyms:
brutish , bestial , feral , beastly , brute : brutal stresses sensuality, coarse cruelty, or crude grossness, always without the alleviation of normal human moderation, reticence, sympathy, mercy, or consideration of others
Constance Kent was rather a beauty — a nice girl with an engaging air; yet she cut her little brother's throat in a thoroughly brutal manner — W.H.Wright
brutal Ode and St. Dunstan force their rude way into the quiet room, and hurl coarse insults at the sweet-faced queen — J.K.Jerome
brutish stresses either gross sensuality completely unchecked or utter animal stupidity unenlightened by even faint human intelligence
in the mines and factories an indiscriminate sexual intercourse of the most brutish kind was the only relief from the tedium and drudgery of the day — Lewis Mumford
it requires wisdom to liberate ourselves from natural brutish stupidity and enslaving passions — M.R.Cohen
bestial usually indicates either a complete lack of human intelligence and refinement or an utter lustful depravity
they were much impressed with the size and bestial ferocity of the niggers whom they had now learned to call “Paythans” — Rudyard Kipling
he is a thief, a murderer, a defiler, a bestial, lecherous dog — Rafael Sabatini
feral stresses wild fury and ferocity like a wild beast's
her wrath, savage and feral, utterly possessed her. She was like a wild animal, cornered and conscious of defeat — W.H.Wright
beastly may imply beastlike indelicacy, cruelty, or sensuality
some woman, coarse and low and vulgar, some beastly creature in whom all the horror of sex is blatant — W.S.Maugham
systematic mutilation of the body rendered the crime particularly beastly — Earl of Birkenhead b. 1907
Often it simply implies irritation or disgust on the speaker's part
she can't eat the soup — no more can I. It's beastly. — W.M.Thackeray
brute may connote cruelty or stupidity
the brute mentality of the clods who constitute the parish — A.J.Cronin
murdered, along the coast of Lincolnshire, out of brute spite — Charles Kingsley