Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Brutal \Bru"tal\, a. [Cf. F. brutal. See {Brute}, a.]
   1. Of or pertaining to a brute; as, brutal nature. ``Above
      the rest of brutal kind.'' --Milton.

   2. Like a brute; savage; cruel; inhuman; brutish; unfeeling;
      merciless; gross; as, brutal manners. ``Brutal
      intemperance.'' --Macaulay.

Source : WordNet®

brutal
     adj 1: (of weapons or instruments) causing suffering and pain;
            "brutal instruments of torture"; "cruel weapons of
            war" [syn: {cruel}]
     2: (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict
        pain or suffering; "a barbarous crime"; "brutal beatings";
        "cruel tortures"; "Stalin's roughshod treatment of the
        kulaks"; "a savage slap"; "vicious kicks" [syn: {barbarous},
         {cruel}, {fell}, {roughshod}, {savage}, {vicious}]
     3: used of circumstances (especially weather) that cause
        suffering; "brutal weather"; "northern winters can be
        cruel"; "a cruel world"; "a harsh climate"; "a rigorous
        climate"; "unkind winters" [syn: {cruel}, {harsh}, {rigorous},
         {unkind}]