brutaler

Brutaler is the comparative form of the German adjective brutal. It is used to express a higher degree of brutality and is commonly employed in descriptions of people, actions, or scenes when a stronger emphasis than the base form is intended. The form is typically placed before the noun in attributive position or used predicatively after a linking verb.

Etymology and usage notes: The adjective brutal comes from Latin brutalis, via French brutal, and entered German with the sense of harsh, cruel, or violent behavior. The comparative form, brutaler, is formed by adding the suffix -er to the base adjective and is declined like other German adjectives in comparisons introduced by als, as in “brutaler als …” or “so brutaler wie ….” Examples include descriptions of violence in media, crime reports, or literary scenes, such as “Der Film war brutaler als der Vorgänger” or “Die Szene war brutaler als erwartet.”

Practical considerations: In everyday language, brutaler conveys a strong, often negative judgment about violence or intensity. It should be used with care in sensitive contexts, as it can carry severe connotations. When translating to English, brutaler corresponds to “more brutal.”

Related terms and variants: The positive form is brutal; the superlative is am brutalsten. The word appears in various noun phrases such as brutale Gewalt (brutal violence) or brutale Taten (brutal acts). As with many German adjectives, the exact ending of brutaler can shift with gender, case, and definiteness of the noun it describes, but in the standard comparative construction it remains brutaler in the masculine nominative singular, with adjustments in other forms.