01 a. Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition; as, the brute earth; the brute powers of nature.
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1.
Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition; as, the brute earth; the brute powers of nature.
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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.
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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 labor.” — Playfair.
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4.
Having the physical powers predominating over the mental; coarse; unpolished; unintelligent.“A great brute farmer from Liddesdale.” — Sir W. Scott.
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5.
Rough; uncivilized; unfeeling.[R.]
Phrases & compounds
brute force —
The application of predominantly physical effort to achieve a goal that could be accomplished with less effort if more carefully considered. Figuratively, repetitive or strenuous application of an obvious or simple tactic, as contrasted with a more clever stratagem achieving the same goal with less effort; -- as, the first prime numbers were discovered by the brute force repetition of the Sieve of Eratosthenes.