| 释义 |
brutal, a. and n.|ˈbruːtəl|
Also 6 -all, -ell.
[f. L. brūt-us (see brute) + -al1. Cf. F. brutal, 16th c. in Littré.]
A. adj.
1. Of or belonging to the brutes, as opposed to man; of the nature of a brute; animal. Obs. or arch.
c1450Henryson Mor. Fab. Prol. xii, Under the figur of sum brutal beist. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 228 Lyke brutell beistis takand thair desyre. 1651Hobbes Govt. & Soc. v. §5. 78 The consent of those brutall creatures is naturall, that of men by compact only. 1704J. Trapp Abra-Mulé iv. i. 1499 Hid their dazzling Forms in Brutal Shapes. 1726Gay Fables (1755) II. 142 On man we brutal slaves depend. 1838G. S. Faber Inquiry 95 The angel..daily infuses them into human and brutal bodies.
2. Resembling, pertaining to, or characteristic of the brutes:
a. in want of intelligence or reasoning power.
c1510Barclay Mirr. Good Mann. (1570) A v, It is a brutall fury in battayle for to fight. 1541Becon News of Heav. Wks. (1843) 52 He is truly too much brutal, that rejoiceth not at the hearing of them [the news]. a1718Penn Maxims Wks. 1726 I. 828 Inquiry is Human; Blind Obedience, Brutal. 1722De Foe Plague (1884) 120 A sort of brutal Courage..founded neither on Religion or Prudence. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey v. iv. 182 The students affected a sort of brutal surprise.
b. in their animal or sensual nature.
1534Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. xxiii. (R.) These lawes of y⊇ Lacedemonians..doth mocke thy brutall vices. c1550Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 193 The parish priest, that brutall beist, He polit them wantonly. a1725Pope Odyss. i. 175 The suitor-train, a brutal crowd, With insolence and wine, elate and loud. 1749Smollett Regicide v. viii, The slaves of brutal appetite. 1878Morley Diderot II. 13 Some of it is revolting in its brutal indecency.
3. As rude or ill-mannered as a brute beast; coarse, unrefined.
1709Shaftesbury Charac. (1711) I. 129 A Man of thorow Good-Breeding..is incapable of doing a rude or brutal Action. 1742Chesterfield Lett. I. xcv. 269 There is hardly any body brutal enough..not to say, Sir, My Lord, or Madam. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 196 His [Tyrconnel's] brutal manners made him unfit to represent the majesty of the crown.
4. Inhuman; coarsely cruel, savage, fierce.
1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 5 It purporteth..the turning of fierce and brutall men..unto..calme and sociable manners. 1735–6Thomson Liberty iii. 430 Brutal Marius and keen Sylla. 1836Thirlwall Greece II. xi. 53 The cruelty of a brutal master. 1840W. Howitt Visits Remark. Pl. Ser. i. 237 The brutal amusements of the bull-baiting or the cock-pit. 1878Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. i. 268 The cruel and brutal abominations of slavery.
†B. n. [ellipt. use of adj.] A brutal person. Obs.
1655Jennings Elise 104 Should you have tormented me so much, to make me hearken to this Brutal? 1663Cowley Cutter Colman St. Pref. 10 The Honour of their Judgments (as some Brutals imagine of their Courage) consists in Quarrelling with every thing. 1676Wycherley Pl. Dealer i. i, The world thinks you a Mad-man, a Brutal.
▸ a. hyperbolical. Extremely difficult or demanding.
1915S. R. Hall Writing Advertisem. xvi. 183 [Mail-order and direct] advertising is put to the brutal tests of the coupon, the key, and the return card. 1936Times 1 May 6/1 He holed several putts, one of them a really brutal one. 1988Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 23 Sept. iii. 5 Two-man keelboats that are so brutal to sail they've earned the nickname ‘torture racks’.
b. colloq. (orig. and chiefly N. Amer.). Very bad or unpleasant; awful.
1947Oelwein (Iowa) Daily Reg. 26 July 8/3 The large ‘economy’ size..is recommended for those with really brutal hangovers. 1967Independent Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 8 Jan. s3/1, I carry the puck pretty well some nights, but other nights I'm just brutal. 1988R. Salutin Man of Little Faith iii. 66 Their first date was brutal. When not scoffing at her artistic interests he ignored her. 2004Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 15 May l3 White wines on the other hand are just brutal..if they are cheap. |