brute

[ broot ]

/ brut /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR brute ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a nonhuman creature; beast.

a brutal, insensitive, or crude person.

the animal qualities, desires, etc., of humankind: Father felt that rough games brought out the brute in us.

adjective

animal; not human.

not characterized by intelligence or reason; irrational.

characteristic of animals; of brutal character or quality.

savage; cruel: brute force.

carnal; sensual.

Origin of brute

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French < Latin brūtus heavy, devoid of feeling, irrational

synonym study for brute

1. See animal.

OTHER WORDS FROM brute

brute·like, adjective brute·ly, adverb brute·ness, noun

Words nearby brute

brut, brutal, brutalism, brutality, brutalize, brute, brute force, brute-force attack, brutify, brutish, brutus

Definition for brute (2 of 3)

brute ²

[ broot ]

/ brut /

verb (used with object), brut·ed, brut·ing.

to shape (a diamond) by rubbing with another diamond or a diamond chip.

Origin of brute

back formation from bruting a rough hewing (of a diamond), partial translation of French brutage literally, a roughing, equivalent to brut rough, raw (see brute¹) + -age -age

Definition for brute (3 of 3)

et tu, Brute

[ et too broo-tey ]

/ ɛt ˈtu ˈbru teɪ /

Latin.

and thou, Brutus!: alleged dying words of Julius Caesar uttered as his friend Brutus stabbed him.

Example sentences from the Web for brute

Brute is the story of Mac and Jesse, two disenfranchised teens who turn to robbing houses as a form of recreation and quick cash.

Nitehawk Shorts Festival: ‘Brute,’ a Twisted Take on Playing in the Dark |Julia Grinberg |November 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They knew that as much as they tried to make up for it with brute force, their cultural power was nil.

Of Gamers, Gates, and Disco Demolition: The Roots of Reactionary Rage |Arthur Chu |October 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“It was no brute whom Smiley was pursuing with such mastery, no unqualified fanatic after all, no automaton,” le Carré writes.

Iran’s Top Spy Is the Modern-Day Karla, John Le Carré’s Villainous Mastermind |Michael Weiss |July 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
To the Americans, however, the invasion was “not to ratify a victory already won; it was to seize that victory by brute force.”

D-Day Was The Largest And One Of The Bloodiest Invasions In History |James A. Warren |June 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

“The Bulgarian Brute,” the excitable announcers called Rusev.

Putin Vs. Obama—In Spandex: Wrestling’s New Cold War |Tim Teeman |May 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Once upon a time, two friends, at the end of their resources, sold the skin of a Bear before they had killed the brute.

The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles |Jean Henri Fabre
The brute would only answer in monosyllables, or often not answer at all.

A Fortnight of Folly |Maurice Thompson
I felt what a brute I must have been, but that kind of brutality has been knocked out of me long ago.

The First Violin |Jessie Fothergill
He in particular seemed fond of inquiring into the language of the brute creation.

Boswell's Correspondence with the Honourable Andrew Erskine, and His Journal of a Tour to Corsica |James Boswell
The very drunk have the intuition sometimes of savages or brute beasts.

K |Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for brute

brute

/ (bruːt) /

noun

any animal except man; beast; lower animal
(as modifier)brute nature

a brutal person

adjective (prenominal)

wholly instinctive or physical (esp in the phrases brute strength, brute force)

without reason or intelligence

coarse and grossly sensual

Word Origin for brute

C15: from Latin brūtus heavy, irrational; related to gravis heavy

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

brute