brute1 nounbrute2 adjective
brutebrute1 /bruːt/ noun [countable] 
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- a drunken brute
- Milly had a husband -- a great brute of a man who knocked her about.
- She spun round and screamed, "Leave him alone, you brute!''
- He looked at her white face and the dark fear in her eyes and felt a brute.
- It was therefore with a fit companion that I tackled the brute for a fourth attempt.
- Nomatterhow he had changed - if indeed he had changed - that man had once been a sadistic brute.
- She had a husband, a great brawny brute of an ex R.A.F. pilot who knocked her about.
Longman Language Activatora violent person► thug
Collocations a man, especially a criminal, who has rough manners and uses violent methods: · A policeman is fighting for his life after young thugs threw a brick through his patrol car windscreen.· A gang of thugs was waiting for him round the back. He didn't have a chance.
► brute if you call a man a brute , you mean he is cruel and violent and does not care if he hurts people: · She spun round and screamed, "Leave him alone, you brute!''a brute of a man: · Milly had a husband -- a great brute of a man who knocked her about.
► hooligan also hoodlum American a violent young man, often a member of a group, who enjoys causing damage and hurting people, especially in public places: · According to the report, the riots had been started by a group of young hoodlums.· Football hooligans caused over £30,000 of damage in bars and restaurants near the stadium.· His father was attacked by a gang of hooligans in a back street.
► psychopath a mentally ill person who behaves violently and kills people, and is unable to feel sorry: · Police described the killer as a psychopath.· The main character in the movie is Dr Hannibal Lector, who displays all the characteristics of a psychopath.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► brute strength
a man who is cruel, violent, and not sensitive (=physical strength rather than intelligence or careful thinking)· There is more to wrestling than brute strength. Tactics are important too.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► force· With brute force techniques ... they do achieve about the same end result as we do with much more sophisticated techniques.· Was brute force and intimidation all they knew?· In the analogue world, the reshaping of a page of information or a physical object requires some exercise of brute force.· In the short term this brute force approach appears to be the best method of incorporating linguistic knowledge into computers.· Lucker opens a case with brute force, sending unprocessed film rolling everywhere.· Wado employs very light and fast techniques, preferring evasion to meeting brute force head on.· The use of brute force for righteous ends appeals strongly to rap's adolescent male following, of course.· With its tendency to glorify brute force it outrages moral standards and inflames the passions.
► strength· And let's not limit the language to pictures of thunder and brute strength.· Henry Cooper used brute strength to promote after-shave.· Keith believes that stamina, not brute strength, is the real key to nude mud wrestling.· Majestic grace is matched with brute strength ... Each horse is hand-picked for its temperament and skill.· By sheer brute strength and blind defiance of the laws of gravity he almost reached the top of the incline.· It's not just boxing and brute strength you've got to do your homework.
brute1 nounbrute2 adjective
brutebrute2 adjective Word OriginWORD ORIGINbrute2
ExamplesOrigin:
1400-1500 French brut ‘rough’, from Latin brutus ‘heavy, stupid’EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Collocations- But it is also a story of brute resolve and drive, and courage at a crunch.
- But like men, chimps do not rise entirely on brute strength.
- Even his strong-man routine seems devoid of any intelligence or style and focuses, instead, upon brute force and muscle.
- For him, the whale was a brute beast which provided the source of his income.
- Instead of brute force, the clever approach would be to attack the weakest point.
- Low, relentless, brute power.
- The brute reality is that there is no political will for a repeat military operation to finish the job.
- What they see is the brute fact of several thousand uncounted votes that would have made a difference.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► brute strength
Phrases (=physical strength rather than intelligence or careful thinking)· There is more to wrestling than brute strength. Tactics are important too.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► force· Instead of brute force, the clever approach would be to attack the weakest point.· Even his strong-man routine seems devoid of any intelligence or style and focuses, instead, upon brute force and muscle.· Their only ultimate recourse is to deal with each other by brute force.· Teravainen belonged to the brute force school; off the tee, he was as long as anybody.· By brute force they began to pull the raft sideways away from the danger.
► strength· But like men, chimps do not rise entirely on brute strength.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► brute force/strength
1brute force/strength physical strength, rather than intelligence and careful thinking: - And let's not limit the language to pictures of thunder and brute strength.
- But like men, chimps do not rise entirely on brute strength.
- Even his strong-man routine seems devoid of any intelligence or style and focuses, instead, upon brute force and muscle.
- Henry Cooper used brute strength to promote after-shave.
- Teravainen belonged to the brute force school; off the tee, he was as long as anybody.
- Their only ultimate recourse is to deal with each other by brute force.
- Wado employs very light and fast techniques, preferring evasion to meeting brute force head on.
- Was brute force and intimidation all they knew?
Discussion can be more effective than the use of brute force.2[only before noun] simple and not involving any other facts or qualities: The brute fact is that the situation will not improve. brute stupidity