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

The movement, favoring democracy and reformist policies that caused rifts within the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, had spread to hundreds of cities before the government resolved to disperse it with brute force. — Laignee Barron / Hong Kong, Time, "How the Tiananmen Square Massacre Changed China Forever," 4 June 2019 Go is so complex even a supercomputer can’t calculate good moves by brute force. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "An AI Beat the Top Humans at a Modern Video Game Thanks to the Power of Teamwork," 16 Apr. 2019 Its aspect in the sky may change; the brute fact of there being 73 thousand trillion tonnes of rock orbiting at a distance of some 380,000km does not. — The Economist, "Empty sky, empty Earth?," 5 July 2018 But the other view, where the brute fact of kinship is what matters, has some odd features, too. — New York Times, "What Do I Owe My Sociopathic Sibling?," 2 July 2018 The researcher also reported that anyone who gained access could make changes to customer accounts, and that customer PINs could be brute-forced. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Security researchers found vulnerabilities at AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint that could have exposed customer data," 25 Aug. 2018 His career was a sublime manifestation of the essence of football: hitting the other guy with the most brute force that a human being can muster. — Larry Stone, The Seattle Times, "Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor’s departure elicits feelings of admiration, guilt," 3 July 2018 Controlling cancer requires thoughtful manipulation to direct cellular evolutionary trajectories, not brute force. — James Degregori, STAT, "Using the principles of evolution to treat and prevent cancer," 27 June 2018 Ireland, who's able to slough off years from her character's age by simply turning her head, reveals all that has been lost over time in a portrait that connects history with psychology and fate with brute economic facts. — Charles Mcnulty, latimes.com, "'Ironbound' at the Geffen Playhouse: An immigrant's portrait, painted with piercing realism," 9 Feb. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Duo's Olabode Anise and Rich Smith contributed to research into generating Apple serial numbers for brute-forcing DEP. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "Researchers find Apple MDM can be brute-forced to register rogue devices," 27 Sep. 2018 For brute concrete drilling power, a rotary hammer is the clear choice. — Timothy Dahl, Popular Mechanics, "Bosch Delivers a Hulking 36V Cordless Rotary Hammer," 24 Mar. 2016 There’s a brute male character, as expected, but also a female character that looks nothing like a princess. — Erica Garza, Time, "The Problem With Watching Porn and Playing Video Games—For Girls," 27 Mar. 2018 Among their many shortcomings, PNRs are vulnerable to the kind of brute-force attacks that Rotem used to harvest El Al's passenger database. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "A Hacker Exposed the Ancient Flaw That Makes Airlines So Hackable," 17 Jan. 2019 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

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.