释义 |
brute I. \ˈbrüt, usu -üd.+V\ adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French brut rough, brutish, from Latin brutus stupid, irrational, literally, heavy; akin to Latin gravis heavy — more at grieve 1. : of, relating to, or typical of animals, brutes, or beasts : not possessed of human rational powers < the same kind of service for the brute world that the study of genealogy has rendered to human history — Encyc. Americana > 2. : having neither life nor soul : not conscious or animate < as we left the harbor, the North Atlantic, brute gray, heckled the ship with its strength — Saul Bellow > 3. : resembling an animal in quality, action, or instinct : brutal: as a. : dull, stupid, and unreasoning b. : cruel and savage : utterly lacking in sensitivity or higher feelings c. : coarse and grossly sensual < the brute instinct that prompted the crime > 4. : purely physical : involving no mental exertion or effort < by brute strength they broke the heavy door > 5. : not influenced or governed by human intelligence : utterly insensible and unaffected by reason 6. : rough, crude, and unrefined : unrelieved and unmodified < the brute facts with which … we have to come to terms — Aldous Huxley > Synonyms: see brutal II. noun (-s) Etymology: Medieval Latin brutus, from Latin brutus, adjective 1. a. : an animal other than man of the class of mammals or certain other vertebrates : beast b. chiefly dialect : a male bovine animal : bull 2. : one that is brutal; especially : a coarse, insensate, unfeeling, crude, or cruel man < he was a drunken loutish brute > III. obsolete variant of bruit IV. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: back-formation from bruting : to shape (a diamond) by rubbing or grinding with another diamond or a diamond chip |