1
as in harsh
difficult to endure
brutal hard labor in the hot sun
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cruel
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a brutal tyrant who drove his country to revolt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
a coarse, brutal man who has no sense of what it means to be refined or sensitive or cultured
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brutal
In Seattle, Ellie and Dina find themselves amid a brutal battle between the zealous Seraphites and a ruthless militia.
—
Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 May 2025
That’s part of what made the loss so brutal — and so frustrating.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
Politics has become so brutal in the divided country that some former Biden defenders have even turned on him, suggesting that the release of Biden’s cancer diagnosis was timed to offset the negative reaction to the release of the audio interview.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
Starring Gael García Bernal, in his breakout role, the film weaves together three stories connected by a violent car crash, each segment orbiting around characters grappling with love, loss, and Mexico City’s brutal underbelly.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutal
Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 May 2025
That’s part of what made the loss so brutal — and so frustrating.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
Politics has become so brutal in the divided country that some former Biden defenders have even turned on him, suggesting that the release of Biden’s cancer diagnosis was timed to offset the negative reaction to the release of the audio interview.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
Starring Gael García Bernal, in his breakout role, the film weaves together three stories connected by a violent car crash, each segment orbiting around characters grappling with love, loss, and Mexico City’s brutal underbelly.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for brutal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brutal
Adjective
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In fact, all forms of Persian rap — from street rap and gangsta to philosophical and social hip-hop — were used in the service of protest, with many works accompanied by heavy beats, dark atmospheres, and harsh narrative styles.—
Ali Farahmand,
IndieWire,
23 May 2025
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Though Nicole reserves her harshest jabs for Jorgeous, the real heat is between Tina and Mistress.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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But then perhaps that is her unsatisfying but depressingly undeniable point: there is no challenging minds this small, behaviors this cruel, spirits this mean.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
30 May 2025
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The reason Evin is infamous is because of its terribly cruel high security detention centers that are poorly supervised by the Prison Chief.—
Jeff Kaufman,
Time,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Greer has points in three of Florida’s past four games while still showcasing his brute force on the ice (33 hits in nine games).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
22 May 2025
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Tactics remained an afterthought, chucked aside in favor of brute force and the long ball.—
Pablo Maurer,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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This is a time for doing the tough, often unglamorous job of making the city function for all New Yorkers.—
Scott Stringer,
New York Daily News,
3 June 2025
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When staring at twin suns like from much greater distances — many light-years away — astronomers have a much tougher time than young Skywalker in determining two stars from one.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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The original 2006 film, which was adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s book of the same name, starred Meryl Streep as the powerful Miranda Priestley, Anne Hathaway as fashion newbie Andy Sachs, Emily Blunt as vicious assistant Emily and Stanley Tucci as Miranda’s right hand man Nigel.—
Rachel McRady,
People.com,
23 May 2025
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Wolves are vicious and intelligent group hunters, but dogs and thunderstorms famously do not mix.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Contracts of adhesion are sometimes seen as oppressive, especially in the consumer context, but courts often regard them as enforceable.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
20 May 2025
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The United States held Qaddafi’s Libya up as a success story in the global war on terror, a former rogue state that had made amends for its murderous past, relinquished its nuclear-weapons program and reoriented its oppressive state apparatus around American foreign-policy priorities.—
Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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Peña said that because the physical changes to the third floor will be minimal, the new flea market should be open in the next couple of weeks — just in time to avoid Miami’s searing summer heat and sudden thunderstorms.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025
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Pyroclastic clouds, or a dense mixture of ash, gas and rock dispersed during a volcanic eruption, caused a searing, rapid avalanche of debris to fill the home, Zuchtriegel said.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brutal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brutal. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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