1. (

• barbarous ,
• brutal ,
• cruel ,
• fell ,
• roughshod ,
• savage ,
• vicious

) (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" ;

2. (

• brutal ,
• unrelenting

) punishingly harsh; "the brutal summer sun"; "a brutal winter" ;

3. (

• beastly ,
• bestial ,
• brute ,
• brutish ,
• brutal

) resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility; "beastly desires"; "a bestial nature"; "brute force"; "a dull and brutish man"; "bestial treatment of prisoners" ;

4. (

• brutal

) disagreeably direct and precise; "he spoke with brutal honesty" ;