Brutal
Brutal adjective - Having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others.
Usage example: a brutal child who liked to torture animals
Sadistic is a synonym for brutal in cruel topic. In some cases you can use "Sadistic" instead the word "Brutal" as an adjective or an adverb, when it comes to topics like ruthless.
Sadistic
Sadistic adjective - Having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others.
Usage example: the troubled youth is being treated by a psychotherapist for his sadistic urges to hurt animals
Brutal is a synonym for sadistic in cruel topic. You can use "Brutal" instead the word "Sadistic" as an adjective or an adverb, if it concerns topics such as callous.
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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Flare Star serves as this for the good guys, though she's nowhere near as brutal or sadistic as other Blood Knights in the series.
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Star Trek: Enterprise: The mirror universe version of Phlox from the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" enjoys performing brutal and sadistic medical experiments.
Source: Mad Doctor -
Character Development: The Blackthorn has become noticeably less sadistic and brutal.
Cite this Source
Sadistic and Brutal. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 28, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/brutal/sadistic
Brutal & Sadistic. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/brutal/sadistic>.
Sadistic or Brutal. 2016. Accessed July 28, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/brutal/sadistic.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "brutal" and "sadistic" have occurred on timeline