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brute - 7 dictionary results
brute
1 [broot]
–noun
| 1. | a nonhuman creature; beast. |
| 2. | a brutal, insensitive, or crude person. |
| 3. | the animal qualities, desires, etc., of humankind: Father felt that rough games brought out the brute in us. |
–adjective
| 4. | animal; not human. |
| 5. | not characterized by intelligence or reason; irrational. |
| 6. | characteristic of animals; of brutal character or quality. |
| 7. | savage; cruel: brute force. |
| 8. | carnal; sensual. |
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < MF < L brūtus heavy, devoid of feeling, irrational
1375–1425; late ME < MF < L brūtus heavy, devoid of feeling, irrational

Related forms:
brutelike, adjective
brutely, adverb
bruteness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To brute
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Brute
Brute\, a. [F. brut, nasc., brute, fem., raw, rough, rude, brutish, L. brutus stupid, irrational: cf. It. & Sp. bruto.]1. Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition; as, the brute earth; the brute powers of nature. 2. Not possessing reason, irrational; unthinking; as, a brute beast; the brute creation. A creature . . . not prone And brute as other creatures, but endued With sanctity of reason. --Milton. 3. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, a brute beast. Hence: Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless; as, brute violence. --Macaulay. The influence of capital and mere brute labor. --Playfair. 4. Having the physical powers predominating over the mental; coarse; unpolished; unintelligent. A great brute farmer from Liddesdale. --Sir W. Scott. 5. Rough; uncivilized; unfeeling. [R.]Brute
Brute\, n. 1. An animal destitute of human reason; any animal not human; esp. a quadruped; a beast. Brutes may be considered as either a["e]ral, terrestrial, aquatic, or amphibious. --Locke. 2. A brutal person; a savage in heart or manners; as unfeeling or coarse person. An ill-natured brute of a husband. --Franklin. Syn: See Beast.Brute
Brute\, v. t. [For bruit.] To report; to bruit. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : brute
Spanish:
animal, bestia,
German:
das Vieh,
Japanese:
獣
brute (adj.)
c.1460, "of or belonging to animals," from M.Fr. brut "coarse, brutal," from L. brutus "heavy, dull, stupid," an Oscan word, from PIE base *gwer- "heavy." Before reaching Eng. meaning expanded to "of the lower animals." Used of human beings from 1535. The noun is from 1611. Brutal in the sense of "cruel" is from 1641; earlier "rude, stupid" (1510); in the original animal sense it is from c.1450.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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