Dictionary

brutish en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈbɹuːt.ɪʃ/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree English brute Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -isch English -ish English brutish From brute + -ish.

Meanings

1. Of, or in the manner of a brute.
2. Bestial; lacking human sensibility.
   • In working out Aristotle’s view, it may help to keep in mind some of its rivals. We have a rich cultural gallery of competing candidates for the titles bad, vicious, evil, worst. There is the pursuer of disvalue as such, like Hannibal Lecter or Milton’s Satan; the wanton or brutish slave to low desires; the Dostoevskeian outlaw, committer of some unforgiveable crime; and the amoral egoist or sociopath who greets all moral considerations with a shrug. 2019, Rachel Barney, “Becoming Bad: Aristotle on Vice and Moral Habituation”, in Victor Caston, editor, Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, volume LVII, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 275:
   • And then came others, possessing weaponry and a sophisticated support before which tribes in dense jungles had no recourse: European concessionaires and feckless traders, brutish exploiters and enslavers. 2009 March 30, Edward Rothstein, “Casting a Sliver of Light on the Heart of Darkness”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 Jul 2020:

Forms

Deriveds

brutishly · brutishness · unbrutish · nasty, brutish, and short

Synonyms

animalistic · uncultured · incivil · barbarious · heathenish · animalish · barbaric · brutish · wolfish · animalistic · animal-like · beastly · animalistic · brutal · brutish · pagan · barbarian · barbarous · barbaric · grim · heathenous · uplandish · animalesque · bestial · wolfish · tenebrose · uncivilized · heathen · uncultivated · Gothlike · uncivil · animalian · savage · heathenly · Gothic · truculent · uncouth · beastly

Translations (24)

da dyrisk (Of, or in the manner of a brute) · sv djurisk (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · es cafre (Of, or in the manner of a brute) · bg зверски (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · ga brúidiúil (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · sv bestialisk (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · gd brùideil (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · de bestialisch (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · gd brùideil (Of, or in the manner of a brute) · da brutal (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · ga ainmhíoch (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · bg животински (Of, or in the manner of a brute) · hu állatias (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · bg скотски (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · sv rå (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · hu bunkó (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · es abrutado (Of, or in the manner of a brute) · de bestial (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · hu bunkó (Of, or in the manner of a brute) · de brutal (Of, or in the manner of a brute) · ga madrúil (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · sv brutal (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · ga brútach (Bestial; lacking human sensibility) · ga brúidiúil (Of, or in the manner of a brute)