1
as in animals
one of the lower animals as distinguished from human beings
it is a fundamental sense of right and wrong that separates us from the brutes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in villains
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
leave him alone, you brute!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutes
An extermination of the brutes in the Middle East, presided over by Obama’s successors, has been followed by a swift cancellation by Trumpian decree of the postracial age.
—
Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Some are slow and heavy brutes that have tons of health while others are slightly but deal more damage.
—Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Some are slow and heavy brutes that have tons of health while others are slightly but deal more damage.
—Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutes
Noun
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Despite shifting attention, 72 percent of consumers globally still preferred products that do not harm plants or animals, the survey showed.—
Matthew Tostevin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
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Watters added that animals need privacy, not just from visitors, but from each other.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yet if the Dodgers are to be cast as villains from the Book of Samuel, Toronto brought to the fight far more than pebbles.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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For the 2017 Dress to Be Free Halloween Party at House of Yes in New York City, Cardi B went as one of Disney's most notorious villains.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The clip then hints that the small town is anything but, with disappearances of children, creepy creatures and more lurking in its past and haunting the present.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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Unique creatures, odd animals and new species are being discovered across the planet.—
Real-Time News team,
Miami Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These are the grifting savages who’ve shown their gratitude to hard-working Americans who rescued them from their primitive native lands by robbing us blind while calling us racists and demanding even more handouts.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These monsters are just fuzzy-creepy-cute.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
29 Oct. 2025
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For those of us who encountered our scariest monsters in the darkness of a movie theatre, that’s something of an injustice in itself, but an injustice that the industry has long normalized.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Why no mumblings of atonement for the predatory nature of capitalism itself, its core values and standard operating procedures no different from those of the beasts in the field?—
Henry Freedland,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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The project recently won a Red Dot Design Award and miniature models of the giant beasts are on display at Singapore's Red Dot Museum until October 2026, where they can be viewed in more detail.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To suggest that another candidate’s supporters are criminals — particularly when that candidate is, by all measures, poised to win at least a plurality of votes in the city — does not seem like a recipe for earning New Yorkers’ support.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Binance also lacked protocols — standard for financial services companies — to report transactions for money laundering risks, according to the Justice Department, and employees were well aware that such an oversight would invite criminals to the platform.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The anime series follows a young man who can demolish fellow devils via a pullstring in his chest that transforms parts of his body into chainsaws.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
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Whether or not Alice lived happily ever after, Gertrude seems to have done so, at least once her devils were banished by inscrutability.—
Judith Thurman,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutes. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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