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Brute

1. Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition; as, the brute earth; the brute powers of nature.

2. Not possessing reason, irrational; unthinking; as, a brute beast; the brute creation. A creature . . . Not prone And brute as other creatures, but endued With sanctity of reason. (Milton)

3. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, a brute beast. Hence: Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless; as, brute violence. The influence of capital and mere brute labour. (Playfair)

4. Having the physical powers predominating over the mental; coarse; unpolished; unintelligent. A great brute farmer from Liddesdale. (Sir W. Scott)

5. Rough; uncivilized; unfeeling.

Origin: f. Brut, nasc, brute, fem, raw, rough, rude, brutish, L. Brutus stupid, irrational: cf. It. & sp. Bruto.

1. An animal destitute of human reason; any animal not human; especially. A quadruped; a beast. Brutes may be considered as either aeral, terrestrial, aquatic, or amphibious. (Locke)

2. A brutal person; a savage in heart or manners; as unfeeling or coarse person. An ill-natured brute of a husband. (Franklin)

Synonym: see beast.