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brutal

brutal, harsh

adjective broo-TAL Rare
Descriptions & Qualities Personality

Usage Note

Brutal has irregular plural forms: brutaux (masculine plural), brutales (feminine plural). It can describe physical violence (un coup brutal) or figurative harshness (une vérité brutale — a harsh truth). The adverb brutalement means both 'brutally' and 'abruptly' (il est mort brutalement — he died suddenly).

Examples

"La décision a été brutale et inattendue."

Natural Translation

The decision was brutal and unexpected.

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