English Explanatory Dictionary

brute

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Without reason or intelligence (of animals).
  2. Characteristic of unthinking animals; senseless, unreasoning (of humans).
  3. Unconnected with intelligence or thought; purely material, senseless.
  4. Crude, unpolished.
  5. Strong, blunt, and spontaneous; being purely physical in nature.
  6. Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless, without intelligence or reason.
noun
  1. An animal seen as being without human reason; a senseless beast.
  2. A person with the characteristics of an unthinking animal; a coarse or brutal person, particularly one who is dim-witted.
  3. A kind of powerful spotlight.
  4. One who has not yet matriculated.
verb
  1. To shape (diamonds) by grinding them against each other.
verb
  1. Obsolete spelling of bruit.

Pronunciation

bro͞ot /bɹuːt/ /bɹut/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-bruit.wav en-us-brute.ogg

Word forms

brute more brute most brute brutes bruting bruted

Etymology

From Middle French brut, from Old French brut, from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid, insensible”), an Oscan loanword, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”). Cognate with Ancient Greek βαρύς (barús), Persian گران (gerân) and Sanskrit गुरु (gurú) (English guru).

Derived words

brute fact brute strength brutal brutality brutedom brute force brute for punishment brutelike brutely bruteness bruter brutesome brutify brutish brutism brutist imbrute unbrute
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