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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

brute

/bɹut/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:31
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What does brute mean?

adjective

  1. Without reason or intelligence (of animals).
  2. Characteristic of unthinking animals; senseless, unreasoning (of humans).
  3. Unconnected with intelligence or thought; purely material, senseless.
More meanings (9)

adjective

  1. Crude, unpolished.
  2. Strong, blunt, and spontaneous; being purely physical in nature.
  3. Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless, without intelligence or reason.

noun

  1. A person with the characteristics of an unthinking animal; a coarse or brutal person, particularly one who is dim-witted.
  2. A kind of powerful spotlight.
  3. (archaic) An animal seen as being without human reason; a senseless beast.
  4. (archaic) One who has not yet matriculated.

verb

  1. To shape (diamonds) by grinding them against each other.
  2. (obsolete) Obsolete spelling of bruit.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/bɹut/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Such an opponent, says Chang Yu, "must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain."
active 6th century B.C. SunziThe Art of WarTranslated by Lionel GilesProject Gutenberg ebook #132
This brute had run a little way and then turned savagely at bay, and Montgomery—with a certain wantonness, I thought—had shot him.
H. G. (Herbert George) WellsThe island of Doctor MoreauProject Gutenberg ebook #159
More book examples (3)
It roused the man, or rather the brute in the man, and now not only roused it, but goaded it to evil.
Frank NorrisMcTeague: A Story of San FranciscoProject Gutenberg ebook #165
How could she, then, treat me as a brute, without a mighty struggle with all the noble powers of her own soul.
Frederick DouglassMy Bondage and My FreedomProject Gutenberg ebook #202
He is but a brute whose soul is conformed to his flesh, whose spirit works for the play of arms and legs.
Robert Browning; Hiram CorsonAn Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning's PoetryProject Gutenberg ebook #260