From Medieval Latin brutalis (“savage, stupid”), from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹuː.təl/

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• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹu.təl/, [ˈbɹu.ɾəl]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹʉː.təl/, [ˈbɹʉː.ɾəl]
• Rhymes: -uːtəl

brutal (comparative more brutal, superlative most brutal)

1. Savagely violent, vicious, ruthless, or cruel, often in an unintelligent manner.

   Synonyms: barbaric, barbarous, savage, truculent; see also Thesaurus:cruel, Thesaurus:savage

   Antonyms: gentle, kind

   The game was brutal, but after a bloodbath he finally won.

   • 2017 January 19, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn't disappoint”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     What began as a zeitgeisty outlaw romp in the Uncool Britannia of the 1990s is now reborn as a scabrous and brutal black comedy about middle-aged male disappointment and fear of death.

2. Crude or unfeeling in manner or speech.

   Synonyms: blunt, brusque, cold-blooded

3. Harsh; unrelenting.

   Synonyms: callous, severe, unyielding; see also Thesaurus:stern

4. Disagreeably precise or penetrating.
5. (music, figuratively) In extreme metal, to describe the speed of the music and the density of riffs.
6. Direct and without attempt to disguise unpleasantness.

   Synonyms: blunt, unsubtle

   brutal honesty

• “brutal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “brutal”, in The Century Dictionary[…], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “brutal”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• Brault

Borrowed from Latin brutālis.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [bɾuˈtal]

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brutal m or f (masculine and feminine plural brutals)

1. brutal

• brutalisme
• brutalitat
• brutalment

• brut

• “brutal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Borrowed from Spanish brutal.

• Hyphenation: bru‧tal
• IPA^(key): /bɾuˈtal/ [bɾuˈtal̪]

brutál

1. brutal; wicked

   Synonym: mabangis

From French brutal, from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”).

• IPA^(key): /brutaːl/, [b̥ʁuˈtˢæːˀl]

brutal

1. brutal
2. savage

• brutalitet

Borrowed from Medieval Latin brūtālis (“savage, stupid”), from brūtus (“dull, stupid”). See brut and -al.

• IPA^(key): /bʁy.tal/

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brutal (feminine brutale, masculine plural brutaux, feminine plural brutales)

1. brutal

brutal m (plural brutaux, feminine brutale)

1. person who acts brutally

• brutalement
• brutaliser
• brutalité

• “brutal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• brulât, brûlât

From Latin brutalis, from brutus (“dull, stupid”).

• IPA^(key): /bʁuˈtaːl/

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• Rhymes: -aːl

brutal (strong nominative masculine singular brutaler, comparative brutaler, superlative am brutalsten)

1. brutal

   Synonyms: barbarisch, kaltblütig

   Antonym: freundlich

• Brutalität

• “brutal” in Duden online
• “brutal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Borrowed from Dutch brutaal, from Middle Dutch brutael (“savage”), from Middle French brutal (“savage”), from Medieval Latin brutalis (“savage, stupid”), from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”). Compare with Indonesian bruto.

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbrutal/ [ˈbru.t̪al]
• Rhymes: -utal
• Syllabification: bru‧tal

brutal (comparative lebih brutal, superlative paling brutal)

1. (colloquial) brutal
   1. violent, vicious, ruthless, or cruel

      Synonym: kejam

   2. harsh; unrelenting

      Synonym: kasar

• brutaal (1901–1947)

• “brutal”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

From Latin brutus, via French brutal.

brutal (neuter singular brutalt, definite singular and plural brutale)

1. brutal

• brutalitet

• “brutal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Latin brutus, via French brutal.

brutal (neuter singular brutalt, definite singular and plural brutale)

1. brutal

• brutalitet

• “brutal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• brutau (Limousin)

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brutal m (feminine singular brutala, masculine plural brutals, feminine plural brutalas) (Languedoc)

1. brutal

• Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana‎^[2], L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2025, page 132

Borrowed from French brutal, from Latin brūtālis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbru.tal/

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• Rhymes: -utal
• Syllabification: bru‧tal

brutal m pers

1. brute (brutal person)

• brutal in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• brutal in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Borrowed from Latin brūtālis.

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: bru‧tal

brutal m or f (plural brutais)

1. brutal, brutish
2. (colloquial) huge
3. (Portugal, colloquial) fantastic, extraordinary

• “brutal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “brutal”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “brutal”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “brutal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French brutal.

• IPA^(key): /bruˈtal/

brutal m or n (feminine singular brutală, masculine plural brutali, feminine/neuter plural brutale)

1. brutal

• brut
• brutalitate
• brutaliza
• brutalizare

Borrowed from Medieval Latin brūtālis (“savage, stupid”), from brūtus (“dull, stupid”).

• IPA^(key): /bɾuˈtal/ [bɾuˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: bru‧tal

brutal m or f (masculine and feminine plural brutales)

1. brutal
2. (colloquial) cool; dope; amazing

   La serie estaba brutal. Ya quiero ver el próximo episodio.

   The series was amazing. I'm eager to watch the next episode.

• “brutal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “brutal”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

From French brutal from Medieval Latin brutalis, from brūtus.

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brutal (comparative brutalare, superlative brutalast)

1. brutal

• brutalisera

• bultar

Borrowed from Spanish brutal.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /bɾuˈtal/ [bɾʊˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: bru‧tal

brutál (Baybayin spelling ᜊ᜔ᜇᜓᜆᜎ᜔)

1. brutal; cruel

   Synonyms: napakalupit, marahas, malupit

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