Brutish.
Synonyms:
| animal, | brutal, | ignorant, | sensual, | swinish, |
| base, | brute, | imbruted, | sottish, | unintellectual, |
| beastly, | carnal, | insensible, | stolid, | unspiritual, |
| bestial, | coarse, | lascivious, | stupid, | vile. |
A brutish man simply follows his animal instincts, without special inclination to do harm; the brutal have always a spirit of malice and cruelty. Brute has no special character, except as indicating what a brute might possess; much the same is true of animal, except that animal leans more to the side of sensuality, brute to that of force, as appears in the familiar phrase "brute force." Hunger is an animal appetite; a brute impulse suddenly prompts one to strike a blow in anger. Bestial, in modern usage, implies an intensified and degrading animalism. Any supremacy of the animal or brute instincts over the intellectual and spiritual in man is base and vile. Beastly refers largely to the outward and visible consequences of excess; as, beastly drunkenness. Compare ANIMAL.
Antonyms:
| elevated, | exalted, | great, | intellectual, | noble, |
| enlightened, | grand, | humane, | intelligent, | refined. |