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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective brutal differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of brutal are bestial, brutish, and feral. While all these words 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.

a senseless and brutal war

When would bestial be a good substitute for brutal?

The words bestial and brutal are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, bestial suggests a state of degradation unworthy of humans and fit only for beasts.

bestial depravity

In what contexts can brutish take the place of brutal?

The words brutish and brutal can be used in similar contexts, but brutish stresses likeness to an animal in low intelligence, in base appetites, and in behavior based on instinct.

brutish stupidity

When is feral a more appropriate choice than brutal?

Although the words feral and brutal have much in common, feral suggests the savagery or ferocity of wild animals.

the struggle to survive unleashed their feral impulses

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brutal After two years of this brutal war that has been livestreamed instantaneously around the globe, hard would be the heart of whoever does not greet the chance to end the bloodshed with anything but relief. Ben Wedeman, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025 Making Parker livelier meant a few things, starting with casting Mark Wahlberg as the brutal thief. Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025 Hill posted a video on X, which shows him in a hospital bed, ready to undergo the surgery to help aid in recovery from his brutal knee injury. James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 Reynolds and first mate Zoë Washburne (Gina Torres) have more reason than most to mistrust this totalitarian government, having fought for the losing Independents (known colloquially as Browncoats) in a brutal civil war against the Alliance. Richard Edwards, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for brutal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutal
Adjective
  • The triumphant narrative began to fray when exceedingly harsh lockdown measures could no longer contain the spread of the virus, and the staggering human cost in the name of protecting lives defied all logic.
    Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
  • There are no easy fixes, so figuring out how to cushion the harsh impact will be the basis of negotiations with other parties in the Japanese legislature, the Diet.
    Jeff Kingston, Time, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • That’s actually the cruelest thing about them.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The cold on August 27, 2011, was unprecedented—unbridled, utterly cruel.
    Mariana Enriquez October 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Not softly, but with brute force, with grit and toughness, heart to match his hands.
    Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The developers sprinkle puzzle elements into some dungeons while also adding moments where stealth is more useful and efficient than brute force.
    Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Lammens was perhaps fortunate to escape sanction then (Stuart Atwell booked the forward for diving), but this was a valuable occasion ahead of tougher tests, beginning at Anfield.
    Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
  • There will be some tough picking in there, but typically the predicting business gets a little easier in region play.
    Tyler Palmateer, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The worry with a dog like Chey is the fact they could be locked in a vicious cycle.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The show follows Ed Gein (Charlie Hunnam), an unassuming and odd man, working his family’s farm under the watchful eye of his hateful and vicious mother, Augusta (Laurie Metcalf).
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Global organization Human Rights Watch accused the festival of diverting attention away from allegations of the government’s severe repression of free speech and criticized comedians for performing on the behest of an oppressive regime.
    Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The oppressive rule has led to nations cutting off aid, leading to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • McBride sets the political context for Swift’s savage indignation by noting that 1727–1729 saw three successive harvest failures in Ireland.
    Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 30 Sep. 2025
  • The singer went viral at Monday night’s show for her seemingly savage reaction to Tori Kelly and Muni Long’s tribute performance.
    DeMicia Inman, VIBE.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • His own divorce from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh informed his Oscar-winning Marriage Story (2019), a searing look at love unraveling.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
  • And McConaughey, as a nervy reluctant hero, steers the searing, intense narrative about normal people living through the most hellish of circumstances.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Brutal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutal. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

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