brutal

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbɹu.təl/ UK /ˈbɹuː.təl/ See IPA manual

Freq #5025

Meanings

1

adj
Extremely violent, vicious, or cruel.

The attack was sudden and brutal.
2

adj
Harsh and very unpleasant to deal with.

We worked under the brutal summer sun all day.
3

adj
Honest in a way that is direct and does not soften the truth.

I appreciated her brutal honesty about my mistakes.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · extremely violent, vicious,... barbaric barbarous cruel vicious

2 adj · harsh and very unpleasant... harsh

3 adj · honest in a way that is... blunt

Word family

Forms brutalize

Derived forms brutalisationbrutalisebrutalismbrutalistbrutalitarianbrutalizebrutalnessnonbrutaloverbrutal

Related forms brutality brutally brute brutish

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

brutal attack
a savage and extremely violent attack

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Medieval Latin brutalis (“savage, stupid”), from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”).

*gʷreh₂- Proto-Indo-European brutalis la-med brūtus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# brutal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɹu.təl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɹuː.təl/
**Frequency rank:** 5025

## Meanings
1. Extremely violent, vicious, or cruel.
2. Harsh and very unpleasant to deal with.
3. Honest in a way that is direct and does not soften the truth.

## Examples
- The attack was sudden and brutal.
- We worked under the brutal summer sun all day.
- I appreciated her brutal honesty about my mistakes.

## Derived Forms
- brutalisation
- brutalise
- brutalism
- brutalist
- brutalitarian
- brutalize
- brutalness
- nonbrutal
- overbrutal

## Related Forms
- brutality
- brutally
- brute
- brutish

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʷreh₂-
- Root: brutalis
- Root: brūtus

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin brutalis (“savage, stupid”), from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”).

## AI Etymology
Brutal is from Medieval Latin brutalis (“savage, stupid”), from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”). Important recorded forms include *gʷreh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), brutalis (la-med), and brūtus (Latin). Current senses include extremely violent, vicious, or cruel, harsh and very unpleasant to deal with, and honest in a way that is direct and does not soften the truth. The wider family includes derived forms such as brutalisation, brutalise, brutalism, brutalist, and brutalitarian and related words such as brutality, brutally, brute, and brutish.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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