[syn: beastly, bestial, brute(a), brutish, brutal]
4. disagreeably direct and precise;
- Example: "he spoke with brutal honesty"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Brutal \Bru"tal\, a. [Cf. F. brutal. See Brute, a.]
1. Of or pertaining to a brute; as, brutal nature. "Above the
rest of brutal kind." --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
2. Like a brute; savage; cruel; inhuman; brutish; unfeeling;
merciless; gross; as, brutal manners. "Brutal
intemperance." --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
brutal
adj 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" [syn: barbarous, brutal, cruel, fell,
roughshod, savage, vicious]
2: harsh; "the brutal summer sun"; "a brutal winter" [syn:
brutal, 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" [syn:
beastly, bestial, brute(a), brutish, brutal]
4: disagreeably direct and precise; "he spoke with brutal
honesty"