as in brutality
the manifestation of the traits or the gratification of the appetites of a lower animal
a novel depicting the brutishness to which a group of schoolboys descend when they are stranded on a deserted island
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Recent Examples of brutishness
Generations of agents, therefore, have had to walk a line between bookishness and brutishness.
—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
But the brutishness has merely relocated, to places far more dangerous.
—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Likewise, young Waller proves a revelation, capable of communicating Danny’s vulnerability and brutishness on the turn of a dime.
—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
But the brutishness has merely relocated, to places far more dangerous.
—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Likewise, young Waller proves a revelation, capable of communicating Danny’s vulnerability and brutishness on the turn of a dime.
—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutishness
brutality
Noun
-
But it’s lost on these boys, whose youth has been ground away by the drug trade’s meaningless brutality.
-
There is a weird intimacy to hand-to-hand combat and the brutality of it.
Cite this Entry
“Brutishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutishness. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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