1
as in harsh
difficult to endure
brutal hard labor in the hot sun
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cruel
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a brutal tyrant who drove his country to revolt
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
a coarse, brutal man who has no sense of what it means to be refined or sensitive or cultured
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutal
Although understanding the difference between destructive and constructive feedback helps leaders communicate brutal truths without causing unnecessary harm, these examples highlight how easily criticism can become a personal attack.
—
Topsie Vandenbosch, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Despite the already brutal external threats, the festival also suffered from internal ones, coming from its own fellow citizens.
—Sonya Vseliubska, IndieWire, 28 Apr. 2025
After years of brutal living conditions, overcrowding and racial discrimination, more than 1,200 inmates seized control of the maximum-security compound, taking guards and staff hostage and demanding sweeping reforms.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025
But graduating in 2009 meant stepping into a brutal job market during the Great Recession.
—William Jones, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutal
Topsie Vandenbosch, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Despite the already brutal external threats, the festival also suffered from internal ones, coming from its own fellow citizens.
—Sonya Vseliubska, IndieWire, 28 Apr. 2025
After years of brutal living conditions, overcrowding and racial discrimination, more than 1,200 inmates seized control of the maximum-security compound, taking guards and staff hostage and demanding sweeping reforms.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025
But graduating in 2009 meant stepping into a brutal job market during the Great Recession.
—William Jones, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutal
Adjective
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So, designing the model's apparent personality to be positive and supportive makes sense—people are less likely to use an AI that comes off as harsh or dismissive.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
29 Apr. 2025
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Wash your hair gently, moisturize regularly with scalp-friendly products, and avoid scratching or harsh brushing.—
Mohammed Soliman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Such evidence could support the view that incessant loud noise amounts to torture or cruel treatment towards cetaceans, in turn galvanizing support for a new right to be free from such harm.—
David Gruber,
Time,
24 Apr. 2025
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But this is the cruel and unreasonable state of this Administration's deportation policy.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Dort will defend quicker guards like Mitchell but lives for the brute matchups.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
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Because the strongest person was going to win in both groups, which just proves the show prioritizes brute strength over any other quality.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Four times, he’s used it to strikeout hitters, with the horizontal break being tough to pick up.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2025
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However, the emotional side of living with the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be just as tough.—
Caitlin Carlson,
SELF,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Sandhagen dispatched Edgar with a vicious flying knee 28 seconds into that bout.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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In its most memorable moment, Walker dispatches a particularly vicious henchwoman with a harpoon to the neck.—
Mike Miller,
EW.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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And this immensely oppressive power threatens the very foundation of legal representation in our country.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
29 Apr. 2025
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However, because ecocriticism emerged in American studies prior to the field’s transnational turn, during a time that emphasized the localized subject as resistance to an oppressive nation-state, ecocritical thought has struggled to adapt.—
Abby Clayton,
JSTOR Daily,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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Pritzker — who was rumored to be on the shortlist to be former Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate last year — issued a searing rebuke of the Trump administration, in his address.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
28 Apr. 2025
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Her viral speech in Minneapolis in 2020 remains one of the most searing indictments of state violence in recent memory.—
Sughnen Yongo,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutal. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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