brutal meaning and definition

BRUTAL adjective

Definition of brutal (adjective)

1. (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
   • "a barbarous crime"; "brutal beatings"; "cruel tortures"; "Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks"; "a savage slap"; "vicious kicks"
   • synonyms: barbarous, cruel, fell, roughshod, savage, vicious
2. harsh
   • "the brutal summer sun"; "a brutal winter"
   • synonyms: unrelenting
3. resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
   • "beastly desires"; "a bestial nature"; "brute force"; "a dull and brutish man"; "bestial treatment of prisoners"
   • synonyms: beastly, bestial, brute, brutish
4. disagreeably direct and precise
   • "he spoke with brutal honesty"