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 MiltonExamples 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
That’s more than a third of the opening games breaking in favor of the lower-seeded team — a brutal stretch for anyone trying to build a flawless bracket.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2026
Despite their beauty, the plants have witnessed the island’s brutal past, from the disappearance of its indigenous people to the violent colonial occupations fueled by the enslavement of Africans people.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026
That terrible war dims in the national memory, but to be Gen X is to be born into the cultural tumult of the Vietnam War, a deeply unpopular and brutal conflict fought by tens of thousands of young men forced into service.
—John Devore, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026
The film’s most odious villain is Orde Wingate (Robert Aramayo), a British Army captain and Christian Zionist who leads the brutal crackdowns on Palestinian villages.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutal
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Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2026
Despite their beauty, the plants have witnessed the island’s brutal past, from the disappearance of its indigenous people to the violent colonial occupations fueled by the enslavement of Africans people.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026
That terrible war dims in the national memory, but to be Gen X is to be born into the cultural tumult of the Vietnam War, a deeply unpopular and brutal conflict fought by tens of thousands of young men forced into service.
—John Devore, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026
The film’s most odious villain is Orde Wingate (Robert Aramayo), a British Army captain and Christian Zionist who leads the brutal crackdowns on Palestinian villages.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brutal
Cite this Entry
“Brutal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brutal. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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