Adjacent Words

Brute definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BRUTE, a. [L. brutus, senseless,irrational.]
1. Senseless; unconscious; as the brute earth.
2. Irrational; ferine; as a brute beast.
3. Bestial; in common with beasts; as brute violence.
4. Rough; uncivilized; insensible; as a brute philosopher.
BRUTE, n. A beast; any animal destitute of reason, and of course the word comprehends all animals except man, but is applied mostly to the larger beasts.
1. A brutal person; a savage in heart or manners; a low bred,unfeeling man.
BRUTE, v.t. for bruit, to report. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility; "beastly desires"; "a bestial nature"; "brute force"; "a dull and brutish man"; "bestial treatment of prisoners" [syn: beastly, bestial, brute, brutish, brutal] n
1: a cruelly rapacious person [syn: beast, wolf, savage, brute, wildcat]
2: a living organism characterized by voluntary movement [syn: animal, animate being, beast, brute, creature, fauna]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French brut rough, from Latin brutus brutish, literally, heavy; akin to Latin gravis heavy — more at grieve Date: 15th century 1. of or relating to beasts <the ways of the brute world> 2. inanimate 1a 3. characteristic of an animal in quality, action, or instinct: as a. cruel, savage <brute violence> b. not working by reason <brute instinct> 4. purely physical <brute strength> <brute force> 5. unrelievedly harsh <brute facts> <brute necessity> II. noun Date: 1611 1. beast 2. a brutal person

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a a brutal or violent person or animal. b colloq. an unpleasant person. 2 an animal as opposed to a human being. --adj. 1 not possessing the capacity to reason. 2 a animal-like, cruel. b stupid, sensual. 3 unthinking, merely material (brute force; brute matter). Derivatives: brutehood n. brutish adj. brutishly adv. brutishness n. Etymology: F f. L brutus stupid

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brute Brute, n. 1. An animal destitute of human reason; any animal not human; esp. a quadruped; a beast. Brutes may be considered as either a["e]ral, terrestrial, aquatic, or amphibious. --Locke. 2. A brutal person; a savage in heart or manners; as unfeeling or coarse person. An ill-natured brute of a husband. --Franklin. Syn: See Beast.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brute Brute, v. t. [For bruit.] To report; to bruit. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brute Brute, a. [F. brut, nasc., brute, fem., raw, rough, rude, brutish, L. brutus stupid, irrational: cf. It. & Sp. bruto.] 1. Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition; as, the brute earth; the brute powers of nature. 2. Not possessing reason, irrational; unthinking; as, a brute beast; the brute creation. A creature . . . not prone And brute as other creatures, but endued With sanctity of reason. --Milton. 3. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, a brute beast. Hence: Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless; as, brute violence. --Macaulay. The influence of capital and mere brute labor. --Playfair. 4. Having the physical powers predominating over the mental; coarse; unpolished; unintelligent. A great brute farmer from Liddesdale. --Sir W. Scott. 5. Rough; uncivilized; unfeeling. [R.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(brutes) 1. If you call someone, usually a man, a brute, you mean that they are rough, violent, and insensitive. ...a drunken brute. N-COUNT [disapproval] 2. When you refer to brute strength or force, you are contrasting it with gentler methods or qualities. He used brute force to take control... Boxing is a test of skill and technique, rather than brute strength. ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Beast (in a wild state), quadruped, four-footed animal, ferocious animal. 2. Ruffian, barbarian, brutal monster. II. a. 1. Irrational, void of reason. 2. Dumb, speechless, inarticulate, silent, voiceless, destitute of language. 3. Bestial, savage, barbarous. See brutal. 4. Rough, rude, uncivilized.

Moby Thesaurus

Adamic, Circean, Draconian, Goth, Mafioso, Neanderthal, Tartarean, Young Turk, animal, animalian, animalic, animalistic, anthropophagite, anthropophagous, atrocious, barbarian, barbaric, barbarous, beast, beastlike, beastly, beldam, berserk, berserker, bestial, blind, bloodthirsty, bloody, bloody-minded, bodily, bomber, brutal, brutalized, brutelike, brutish, cannibal, cannibalistic, carnal, carnal-minded, coarse, creature, creeping thing, critter, cruel, cruel-hearted, demon, demoniac, demoniacal, destroyer, devil, devilish, diabolic, dragon, dull, dumb, dumb animal, dumb friend, earthy, fallen, fell, feral, ferine, ferocious, fiend, fiendish, fiendlike, fierce, fire-eater, firebrand, fleshly, fury, goon, gorilla, gross, gunsel, hardnose, hell-raiser, hellcat, hellhound, hellion, hellish, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hothead, hotspur, hyena, incendiary, infernal, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, instinctive, instinctual, irrational, killer, lapsed, living being, living thing, mad dog, madcap, man-eater, material, materialistic, mindless, monster, mugger, murderous, nihilist, nonrational, nonspiritual, orgiastic, physical, postlapsarian, rapist, revolutionary, ruthless, sadistic, sanguinary, sanguineous, satanic, savage, senseless, shark, sharkish, she-wolf, slavering, spitfire, subhuman, swinish, termagant, terror, terrorist, thoughtless, tiger, tigress, tough, tough guy, troglodyte, truculent, ugly customer, unchristian, uncivilized, unconscious, unfeeling, unhuman, unintelligent, unreasoning, unspiritual, unthinking, vandal, varmint, vicious, violent, virago, vixen, wild beast, wild man, witch, wolf, wolfish, wrecker, zoic, zooidal, zoologic