BRUTES Synonyms: 98 Similar and Opposite Words

brutes

noun

plural of brute

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

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as in villains

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person leave him alone, you brute!

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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 brutes These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds. — Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026 In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world. — Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026 The psychology that Bryk wrote for these young men is the key as to why these brutes are more lovable than unbearable. — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026 Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold. — Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 13 Nov. 2025 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutes

Noun

If a landscape is truly untouched by humans, then natural forces—plants, animals, wind, water, lightning—should be able to account for everything that happens there.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Mourners gathered Sunday outside the home where the shooting unfolded, leaving candles, flowers and stuffed animals.

— Eric Mack, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of animals

Noun

The station is soon invaded by out-of-time baseball stars, fairytale villains, and unseasonal snow, all created by aliens eager to understand the concept of imagination.

— Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026
The zombie is one of the most elastic and grotesque villains in the genre, shifting dramatically from early-Hollywood films built on racial stereotypes to the now-popular vision of a monster that yearns to devour those still living.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

However, the vision to revive animals like the woolly mammoth goes far beyond creating a real-life Jurassic Park with previously extinct creatures.

— Colleen McKown, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026
Shunned by locals, who believe she is cursed, Eleni turns to ancient rituals to resurrect her dead offspring but instead summons malevolent folkloric creatures known as the Kalikantzari.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of creatures

Noun

Next week, find out how monsters, ghouls and slashers can also mean big bucks.

— Ayesha Rascoe, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026
The story begins in 1990, when John Eng, an endocrinologist at the Veterans Administration, isolated a peptide from the venom of Gila monsters, the nearly two-foot-long lizards native to the Southwest.

— Dr. Bowman Heiden, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of monsters

Noun

Dangerous donkeys On one side is the public safety crowd, who insist the 500-pound beasts are a menace to the free flow of commerce.

— Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
The Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery (7 miles north of San Simeon) remains full of massive, delightfully noisy beasts.

— David G. Allan, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of beasts

Noun

That is what makes seemingly basic personal information so useful to criminals.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Pillay, 85, received the news while attending a forum in Nuremberg, Germany, where the trials of Nazi war criminals helped lay the foundations of international law.

— Stefanie Dazio, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminals

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“Brutes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutes. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of brutes

noun

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