1
[ adjective ] (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

Examples

"a barbarous crime" "brutal beatings" "cruel tortures" "Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks" "a savage slap" "vicious kicks"

Used in print

(Peter Field, Rattlesnake Ridge....)

Russ gave him a brutal thrust that tumbled him over flat on his stomach .

Related terms

inhumane

2
[ adjective ] (of weapons or instruments) causing suffering and pain

Synonyms

cruel

Examples

"brutal instruments of torture" "cruel weapons of war"

Used in print

(Brand Blanshard, "The Emotive Theory," Robert...)

We come_upon a rabbit that has been caught in one of the brutal traps in common use .

Related terms

inhumane

3
[ adjective ] (of circumstances; especially weather) causing suffering

Examples

"brutal weather" "northern winters can be cruel" "a cruel world" "a harsh climate "a rigorous climate" "unkind winters"

Related terms

hard

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