brute

adjective

\ ˈbrüt

\

Definition of brute

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : of or relating to beasts the ways of the brute world

2 : inanimate sense 1a a brute object

3 : characteristic of an animal in quality, action, or instinct: such as

a : cruel, savage brute violence

b : not working by reason brute instinct

4 : purely physical brute strength brute force

5 : unrelievedly harsh brute facts brute necessity

brute

noun

Definition of brute (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : beast

2 : one who lacks intelligence, sensitivity, or compassion : a brutal person

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about brute

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Examples of brute in a Sentence

Adjective

They used brute force to open the door. the brute fact of getting old

Noun

Let go of me, you brute! it is a fundamental sense of right and wrong that separates us from the brutes

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

But in the past two years, Mr. Assad—backed by Russia and Iran—has retaken control of nearly the entire country, often using brute force that has drawn widespread international criticism. — Nazih Osseiran, WSJ, "Thaw Warms Ties Between Gulf States and Syria," 27 Dec. 2018 The kind of efficiencies that had underpinned the Red Sox championships were no match for the sheer brute force of soccer’s (effectively) unlimited spending. — Jonathan Clegg, WSJ, "A Red Sox Strategy to Conquer the Premier League," 31 Oct. 2018 On the other is Cambodia's Hun Sen, who has ruled his nation with a combination of political guile and brute force for three decades, and comes to New York having won all the seats in an election after outlawing his main political opposition. — Matthew Pennington, Fox News, "Malaysia, Cambodia offer 2 Asian narratives of change at UN," 27 Sep. 2018 The reaction takes brute force—up to 250 atmospheres of pressure in the tall, narrow steel reactors—a process first industrialized by German chemist Carl Bosch. — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, "Ammonia—a renewable fuel made from sun, air, and water—could power the globe without carbon," 12 July 2018 Johnson's Will Sawyer is tough as nails, using brute force, blunt instruments and plenty of duct tape to rescue his family from a burning building. — Katie Walsh, chicagotribune.com, "'Skyscraper' review: Dwayne Johnson shows off his dramatic acting chops," 11 July 2018 The rebels there are now under pressure to surrender as President Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, uses brute force to continue consolidating his grip on the entire country. — Dov Lieber, WSJ, "Russia-Backed Syrian Forces Intensify Assault on Rebel Stronghold," 27 June 2018 The tone appears to have calmed somewhat over recent days, which also brought a poll that suggested the CSU's attempt to use political brute force against Merkel may be backfiring in Bavaria. — Geir Moulson, Fox News, "Germany's Merkel faces race against time in migrant standoff," 28 June 2018 And like a hacker, a good picker doesn’t break the lock with brute force but with subtlety and finesse. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Why the Girl Scouts Are Learning to Pick Locks and Hack Computers," 28 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Plus, an earlier flashback shows Jack’s dad telling him that his one job is to protect his little brother, Nicky (which, ironically, leads Jack to defend his brother from his brute of a father). — Candice Frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Is Us Season 3 Episode 4 Finally Introduces Jack's Brother Nicky," 17 Oct. 2018 Lafite has always been a wine prized more for its finesse than its brute strength. — Jay Mcinerney, Town & Country, "A New Era Begins at Château Lafite as Baron de Rothschild Hands Leadership Over to His Daughter," 13 Aug. 2018 The system analyzed the patterns in the passwords and could narrow down likely ones much faster than the brute-force method. — Adam Janofsky, WSJ, "AI Could Make Cyberattacks More Dangerous, Harder to Detect," 13 Nov. 2018 Another congressional candidate running in Alabama, Tabitha Isner, alerted the FBI to a brute-force entry attempt, an inelegant but sometimes effective attack that runs thousands of password combinations to access a network. — Benjamin Wofford, Vox, "The midterms are already hacked. You just don’t know it yet.," 25 Oct. 2018 This automated system is supposed to watch out for brute-force entry attempts to your PC, botnet attacks, and threats to your sensitive information. — Ian Paul, PCWorld, "Bitdefender Total Security 2019 review: This AV suite builds a better autopilot," 13 Sep. 2018 The International Game Fish Association’s all tackle world record bluegill is a 4-pound 12-ounce brute — a heavyweight mark that has stood 68 years. — Gary Garth, USA TODAY, "Easy to find and fun to catch, bluegill are America’s fish," 25 May 2018 Both Bolden’s presence and his portrayal are striking, stirring conflicting emotions in the viewer, who is, by turns, forced to consider the black man as beauty, as brute, as prize, and as broken. — Maiysha Kai, The Root, "Father Comes Home from the Wars," 9 June 2018 Both iterations depict Thanos as a maniacal, hulking brute. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Thanos, the villain of Avengers: Infinity War, explained," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brute.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near brute

Statistics for brute

Last Updated

6 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for brute

The first known use of brute was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for brute

brute

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of brute

(Entry 1 of 2)

: very strong or forceful

: very harsh

brute

noun

English Language Learners Definition of brute (Entry 2 of 2)

: a cruel, rough, or violent man

See the full definition for brute in the English Language Learners Dictionary

brute

adjective

\ ˈbrüt

\

Kids Definition of brute

(Entry 1 of 2)

: typical of beasts : like that of a beast We used brute force to open the door.

brute

noun

Kids Definition of brute (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a four-footed animal especially when wild

2 : a cruel or rough person

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