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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Padilla had harsh comments for the president and the GOP in a statement Thursday after the House vote.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Scheifele’s emotional and inspirational decision to play mere hours after his father’s unexpected death — to play for his dad, to play because of his dad — ended in cruel fashion, with Scheifele helpless in the penalty box.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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At first the program seems to be benign, but Hayakawa’s film steadily reveals how the policy thrives on the cruel capitalist tenet that people are disposable.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
17 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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Johnson has been on a winning streak this year with Trump in the White House and backing him repeatedly to muscle through a series of very tough votes on the slimmest of majorities.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
22 May 2025
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Buy Now: Flashlight on Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V. E. Schwab (June 10) V. E. Schwab’s sapphic vampire romance begins in 16th century Spain with Maria, a tough young bride, looking to escape her wealthy husband.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
22 May 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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Noem are working every day to get vicious criminals out of our country while activist judges are fighting to bring them back onto American soil.—
Sonam Sheth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
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 30 May. 2025.
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