brutally

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbrutəli/ UK /ˈbruːtəli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a savagely violent or harshly direct manner

He was brutally honest about her chances of winning.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a savagely violent or... savagely cruelly viciously ruthlessly mercilessly ferociously harshly

Opposites

gently kindly mercifully tenderly

Word family

Related forms brutal brute brutality

Etymology

From brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

brutus Latin

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Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# brutally

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ˈbrutəli
**IPA (UK):** ˈbruːtəli

## Meanings
1. in a savagely violent or harshly direct manner

## Examples
- He was brutally honest about her chances of winning.

## Synonyms
- savagely
- cruelly
- viciously
- ruthlessly
- mercilessly
- ferociously
- harshly

## Antonyms
- gently
- kindly
- mercifully
- tenderly

## Related Forms
- brutal
- brute
- brutality

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brutus

## Etymology
From brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

## AI Etymology
Brutally comes from brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + the adverbial suffix -ly. The historical trail runs through brutus in Latin. Morphologically, brutally is transparent: it draws on brutal (from Latin brutus, 'heavy, dull, irrational') + the adverbial suffix -ly. Used as an adverb, brutally now means "in a savagely violent or harshly direct manner", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as brutal, brute, and brutality. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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