brutal

Compared meaning: extremely cruel and without mercy (adjective).

比较义项：极其残忍、无情（形容词）。

• brutal 本词

  Brutal stresses extreme physical violence or savage force, describing attacks, regimes, or killings; it is too strong for a merely unkind remark.

  brutal强调极端的暴力和野蛮的力量，用来形容袭击、政权或杀戮；用在一句不友善的话上则显得太重。

  The soldiers launched a brutal attack, killing villagers without any mercy.

  士兵发动了一次残暴的袭击，毫不留情地杀害了村民。

• cruel

  Cruel is the general, everyday word for deliberately causing pain or suffering, physical or emotional, and can describe either an action or a person's character.

  cruel是最常用、最普通的词，指故意让人（或动物）遭受身体或精神上的痛苦，既可以形容一个行为，也可以形容一个人的性格。

  She made a cruel joke about his stutter, just to embarrass him.

  她拿他口吃的毛病开了一个残忍的玩笑，就是为了让他难堪。

• inhuman

  Inhuman is the strongest and most formal, implying a total lack of human decency; it usually describes conditions, treatment, or systems rather than one unkind remark.

  inhuman语气最强也最正式，指完全丧失人性；通常用来形容恶劣的环境、待遇或制度，而不是一句不友善的话。

  Prisoners were kept in inhuman conditions, with no food or clean water.

  囚犯们被关在毫无人道的环境中，没有食物也没有干净的水。

Brutal, cruel, and inhuman all mean extremely cruel, but differ in strength. Brutal stresses violence, as in attacks. Cruel is the common word, meaning deliberately causing pain. Inhuman is the strongest, meaning a total lack of kindness. This excludes brutal describing harsh weather or schedules.

这三个词在“极其残忍”这一义项上意思相近，但语气和用法各不相同：brutal强调暴力和粗暴的力量，常用于攻击、政权、谋杀等；cruel是最常用、最通用的词，指故意让人（或动物）痛苦，可用于行为也可用于言语；inhuman语气最强也最正式，强调完全丧失人性、把人当作非人对待，常用于形容恶劣的环境或制度。另外，brutal还有“（天气、日程等）十分严酷、令人难以忍受”的用法（如brutal winds），这里不作比较。

Compared meaning: extremely strong or harsh, as of weather (adjective).

比较义项：形容天气、力度等达到极端、猛烈或严酷的程度（形容词）。

• brutal 本词

  Emphasizes extreme harshness that causes suffering or hardship, often for weather or conditions; carries a negative, almost cruel connotation, unlike the neutral 'strong' or the sudden-force sense of 'violent'.

  强调极端严酷、令人难以忍受的程度，常用于天气或环境，带有近乎残酷的负面色彩，不同于中性的strong，也不同于violent所强调的突然爆发的力量。

  The hikers pushed on despite the brutal cold at the summit.

  登山者们不顾山顶严酷的寒冷，依然继续前行。

• strong

  The neutral, general word for high intensity or magnitude, used for wind, smell, taste, feeling, etc., without implying harshness or suddenness; the safest everyday choice when just describing degree.

  是表示强度或程度高的中性通用词，可用于风、气味、味道、情绪等，不含严酷或突然之意，是单纯描述程度时最安全的日常用词。

  A strong wind blew steadily across the open field all afternoon.

  一整个下午，一阵强风持续吹过空旷的田野。

• violent

  Stresses a sudden, forceful, often destructive change, as if the thing were acting with physical violence; typically describes something that starts or turns abruptly, unlike the steadier 'strong'.

  强调突然、猛烈、往往带有破坏性的变化，仿佛该事物本身带有暴力性，通常表示骤然发生或转变，不同于较为持续平稳的strong。

  The wind suddenly turned violent, ripping branches from the trees.

  风突然变得猛烈起来，把树枝都吹断了。

These three words describe an extreme degree, as weather or force, but differ in tone. Brutal suggests harsh suffering. Strong is neutral, just showing high degree. Violent suggests a sudden, destructive change. This excludes brutal meaning cruel, strong meaning powerful, and violent describing violent people.

这三个词都可以形容天气、风势等达到很强或很猛烈的程度，但语气和侧重点不同：brutal强调严酷难耐，strong只表示强度大而不带感情色彩，violent则强调突然而具破坏性的力量。这里不比较brutal表示“残忍的”（如brutal murder）、strong表示“强壮的／浓烈的”等其他义项，也不比较violent表示“（人）有暴力倾向的”这一义项。