brute

¹

[ broot ]

noun

1. a nonhuman creature; beast.
2. a brutal, insensitive, or crude person.
3. the animal qualities, desires, etc., of humankind:

   Father felt that rough games brought out the brute in us.

adjective

1. animal; not human.
2. not characterized by intelligence or reason; irrational.
3. characteristic of animals; of brutal character or quality.
4. savage; cruel:

   brute force.

5. carnal; sensual.

brute

²

[ broot ]

verb (used with object)

, brut·ed, brut·ing.

1. to shape (a diamond) by rubbing with another diamond or a diamond chip.

brute

/ bruːt /

noun

1. 1. any animal except man; beast; lower animal
   2. ( as modifier )

      brute nature

2. a brutal person

adjective

1. wholly instinctive or physical (esp in the phrases brute strength, brute force )
2. without reason or intelligence
3. coarse and grossly sensual

Other Words From

• brutelike adjective
• brutely adverb
• bruteness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brute¹

First recorded in 1425–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin brūtus “heavy, devoid of feeling, irrational”

Origin of brute²

First recorded in 1900–05; back formation from bruting “rough hewing (of a diamond),” partial translation of French brutage literally, “a roughing,” equivalent to brut “rough, raw” + -age; brute ¹, -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of brute¹

C15: from Latin brūtus heavy, irrational; related to gravis heavy

Synonym Study

See animal.

Example Sentences

Samer Issa said four suspects were recently arrested in a series of robberies and burglaries that removed the machines with brute force at liquor stores in the Mission Hills and West Valley area.

From Los Angeles Times

Seemingly magical powers, and proof that rugby league is more than physicality and brute strength.

From BBC

They’re also versions of survivors that don’t neatly fit into the popular fantasy of brute strength and frontier gutsiness.

From Salon

Civil rights leaders certainly knew that love can seem like a flimsy weapon against brute oppression: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that he once “despaired of the power of love in solving social problems.”

From Los Angeles Times

And Total Film's Jamie Graham said Watkins' "shrewd, engrossing and pleasingly nasty" imagining is unafraid to push the source material in new directions, with McAvoy "perfect... for this particular brand of Alpha male brute".

From BBC