brutish

play

adjective brut·ish \ ˈbrü-tish \

Definition of brutish

1 :resembling, befitting, or typical of a brute or beast

lived a short and brutish life as a slave

2 a :strongly and grossly sensual

brutish gluttony

b :showing little intelligence or sensibility

a brutish lack of understanding

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brutishly

adverb

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brutishness

noun

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Examples of brutish in a Sentence

She is married to a brutish, drunken slob.
as the months of recurrent combat dragged on, the daily existence of the soldiers became increasingly brutish

Recent Examples of brutish from the Web

This was an Iron Age of iron men, and Chicago teams ever since have strived to live up to the brutish standards of their fore-Bears.

— david isaacson, Chicago Reader, "Hard hat, lunch pail: The myth of toughness in Chicago sports," 15 Aug. 2017
THE BIG, BRUTISH red of the southern Rhône is no doubt mourvèdre, a grape that loves hot weather, ripens late and has found a home in Washington’s Columbia Valley, where blue skies are plentiful and triple-digit temperatures rule July.

— andy perdue, The Seattle Times, "The Rhône Revolution, Part Four: Mourvèdre pulls its weight in GSM blends," 26 July 2017
Prior to the arrival of Pocahontas in England, indigenous people of the Americas were viewed as cannibals, brutish, and non-Christian.

— smithsonianmag.com, "Pocahontas Redefined How Europeans Saw Native Americans," 13 July 2017
Ingénue restaurants debut every week, yet their moment in the spotlight often is brutish and short.

— gary baum, The Hollywood Reporter, "Where Hollywood Eats: L.A.'s 20 Hottest Restaurants Right Now (July 2017)," 7 July 2017
Ingénue restaurants debut every week, yet their moment in the spotlight often is brutish and short.

— gary baum, The Hollywood Reporter, "Where Hollywood Eats: L.A.'s 20 Hottest Restaurants Right Now (July 2017)," 7 July 2017
Ingénue restaurants debut every week, yet their moment in the spotlight often is brutish and short.

— gary baum, The Hollywood Reporter, "Where Hollywood Eats: L.A.'s 20 Hottest Restaurants Right Now (July 2017)," 7 July 2017
On the other is a bank robber (the excellent Alun Armstrong) just getting out of prison, and his two sons — one brutish (Lex Shrapnel), one sensitive (Jay Taylor).

— robert lloyd, latimes.com, "'Prime Suspect' prequel gives us a young Jane Tennison," 24 June 2017
IMPOSING THEIR WILL Bullish and often brutish, the Ducks tore out to a 12-0-4 start that set an NHL record for most games with a point to begin a season until Chicago topped that six years later.

— eric stephens, Orange County Register, "A decade after winning the Stanley Cup title, the 2006-07 Ducks remain the franchise’s beloved standard," 19 June 2017

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

First Known Use of brutish

1534

brutish Synonyms

Synonyms

animalistic, beastly, brutal, brute, bestial, feral, ferine, subhuman, swinish

Related Words

animal, bodily, carnal, corporal, corporeal, fleshly, physical, sensual; barbaric, barbarous, cruel, heartless, inhumane, sadistic, savage, vicious, wanton; coarse, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, lowbred, rude, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unrefined, vulgar

Near Antonyms

chivalrous, elevated, gallant, great, greathearted, high, high-minded, lofty, lordly, magnanimous, noble, sublime; angelic (or angelical), spiritual; beneficent, benevolent, benignant, compassionate, good-hearted, kind, kindhearted, kindly, softhearted, tenderhearted; cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, well-bred

Synonym Discussion of brutish

brutal, brutish, bestial, feral mean characteristic of an animal in nature, action, or instinct. brutal applies to people, their acts, or their words and suggests a lack of intelligence, feeling, or humanity.