Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An animal other than a human; a beast.
- noun A brutal, crude, or insensitive person.
- adjective Of or relating to animals other than humans.
- adjective Characteristic of a brute, especially.
- adjective Entirely physical.
- adjective Lacking or showing a lack of reason or intelligence.
- adjective Savage; cruel.
- adjective Unremittingly severe.
- adjective Coarse; brutish.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Nautical, a yacht that to some extent sacrifices fineness of lines to fullness of form, so that great initial stability and sail-carrying power are obtained.
- Senseless; unconscious.
- Wanting reason; animal; not human: as, a brute beast.
- Characteristic of animals; of brutal character or quality.
- Blunt or dull of sentiment; without sensibility; rough; uncivilized; insensible.
- Not associated with intelligence or intellectual effort; unintelligent; irrational.
- Harsh; crude.
- Synonyms Brute, Brutish, Brutal, Beastly, Bestial. Brute is the most general of these words, and remains nearest to the distinguishing difference between man and beast, irrationality: as, brute force. Brutish is especially uncultured, stupid, groveling: as, brutes and still more brutish men. Brutal implies cruelty or lack of feeling: as, brutal language or conduct. Beastly expresses that which is altogether unworthy of a man, especially that which is filthy and disgusting in conduct or manner of life. Bestial is applied chiefly to that which is carnal, sensual, lascivious: as, bestial vices or appetites.
- noun A beast, especially one of the higher quadrupeds; any animal as distinguished from man.
- noun A brutal person; a savage in disposition or manners; a low-bred, unfeeling person.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To report; to bruit.
- noun An animal destitute of human reason; any animal not human; esp. a quadruped; a beast.
- noun A brutal person; a savage in heart or manners; as unfeeling or coarse person.
- adjective Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition.
- adjective Not possessing reason, irrational; unthinking.
- adjective Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, a brute beast. Hence: Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless.
- adjective Having the physical powers predominating over the mental; coarse; unpolished; unintelligent.
- adjective rare Rough; uncivilized; unfeeling.
- adjective The application of predominantly physical effort to achieve a goal that could be accomplished with less effort if more carefully considered. Figuratively, repetitive or strenuous application of an obvious or simple tactic, as contrasted with a more clever stratagem achieving the same goal with less effort; -- .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Strong,
blunt , andspontaneous - noun archaic, slang, UK One who has not yet
matriculated . - verb Obsolete spelling of
bruit .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a cruelly rapacious person
- adjective resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
- noun a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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At certain intervals his mania came upon him, the strange hallucination of something four-footed, the persistent fancy that the brute in him had now grown so large, so insatiable, that it had taken everything, even to his very self, his own identity -- that he had literally _become the brute_.
Vandover and the Brute Frank Norris 1886
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"How I hate the man who talks about the 'brute creation,' with an ugly emphasis on _brute_ ....
This Simian World Clarence Day 1904
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His whole appearance at such times excited disgust in that lady, and she would leave his presence as soon as possible, using even the term brute to express her disgust; Matthias too, would attempt to rouse him on such occasions, to a sense of impropriety, by exclaiming, "Why, Elijah! what are you saying, what are you about?" while other persons would remove his hand, and hold him.
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The retired, four-star army general who has taken over as secretary of veterans affairs is vowing what he calls a brute force effort to reform his department.
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He said any new fight would require what he called brute force.
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He said, any new fight would require what he called brute force.
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We discern this fact with curious clearness when we look at other people, but it is nowhere quite so evident as in what we call the brute creation.
Schwartz: A History From "Schwartz" by David Christie Murray David Christie Murray
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"I don't know what you call the brute," said Ukridge.
Love Among the Chickens A Story of the Haps and Mishaps on an English Chicken Farm Armand [Illustrator] Both 1928
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"I don't know what you call the brute," said Ukridge.
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This latter reaches far down into the levels of what we call brute life.
An Outline of the History of Christian Thought Since Kant Edward Caldwell Moore 1900
bilby commented on the word brute
Et tu, cruel rapaciousness.
October 25, 2009