What's the difference between brutal and tough?

Brutal


Definition:

  • (a.) Of or pertaining to a brute; as, brutal nature.
  • (a.) Like a brute; savage; cruel; inhuman; brutish; unfeeling; merciless; gross; as, brutal manners.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The arrest of the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian and his journalist wife, Yeganeh Salehi, as well as a photographer and her partner, is a brutal reminder of the distance between President Hassan Rouhani’s reforming promises and his willingness to act.
  • (2) The analysis of the causes of hunger current in the 1970's can be summarized somewhat brutally as follows.
  • (3) Their brutality seems to have been fairly even-handed, or if it wasn't, the men surely suffered enough not to be presented as the winners of the atrocity.
  • (4) It hasn't been so exposed to the brutal learning culture Scotland Yard has been through with cases like Stephen Lawrence and Victoria Climbié.
  • (5) My whole world was turned upside down by the brutality of it.
  • (6) The Florida senator said: “This simplistic notion that ‘leave Assad there because he’s a brutal killer, but he’s not as bad as what’s going to follow him’ is a fundamental and simplistic and dangerous misunderstanding of the reality of the region.” It’s unclear though how much the actual debate about policy between the two senators stood out from the political carnival surrounding them.
  • (7) "They have a retaliatory doctrine," Salah argued of the police, whose brutality was a major cause of Egypt's 2011 uprising , but who have become more popular after backing Morsi's overthrow.
  • (8) Comic writing can be a brutal, unforgiving business, yet it can produce great and multi-layered prose, combining comedy, pathos and satire.
  • (9) "It's horrible and brutal to be that far back and searching for those gears and they're not there," O'Hare admitted.
  • (10) The Shah's secret police – Savak – became increasingly brutal, ultimately detaining without trial and torturing tens of thousands of Iranian citizens.
  • (11) These are the first western depictions of our animals, and what they represent are the inception of the specific cultural politics which your nation forced on my continent, its land and its people with unhesitating colonial brutality.
  • (12) Coming shortly after the regime's successful third nuclear weapons test, Rodman's public declaration that he was Kim's "friend for life ", and the young premier's ability to parade his western visitors on state media, angered critics who argued that the country's ghastly poverty and brutal human rights violations were inadequately reflected.
  • (13) The pro-free-market newspaper soon fell victim to brutal market forces.
  • (14) Zhang Gaoping, 47, told state media that he and his nephew were subject to seven days of brutal interrogation before trial – sleep deprivation, starvation, cigarette burns.
  • (15) Onset is generally brutal, as in acute enteritis or an extradigestive infection (ENT...) but persists, or else, more often, the syndrome appears insidiously over several days.
  • (16) As the brutality of the crackdown increased, there were reports of some small-scale defections within the Syrian army.
  • (17) Police said the brutal injuries to the boy clearly caused his death and investigators were not looking for anyone else.
  • (18) If so, they will be more jihadist, sectarian, brutal and anti-western when they take Damascus.
  • (19) Concentrate on the way he constructs the space of an interior or orchestrates a sensual camera movement that he invented himself - the camera gliding on unseen tracks in one direction while uncannily panning in another direction - and you perceive how each Dreyer film almost brutally reconstructs the universe rather than accepting it as a familiar given.
  • (20) Everything that was, is more: brutality, injustice, poverty, anger; but also clarity, knowledge, understanding and, possibly, determination.

Tough


Definition:

  • (superl.) Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably tough.
  • (superl.) Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; as, tough sinews.
  • (superl.) Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm.
  • (superl.) Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.
  • (superl.) Severe; violent; as, a tough storm.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Photograph: Guardian The research also compiled data covered by a wider definition of tax haven, including onshore jurisdictions such as the US state of Delaware – accused by the Cayman islands of playing "faster and looser" even than offshore jurisdictions – and the Republic of Ireland, which has come under sustained pressure from other EU states to reform its own low-tax, light-tough, regulatory environment.
  • (2) Nick Robins, head of the Climate Change Centre at HSBC, said: "If you think about low-carbon energy only in terms of carbon, then things look tough [in terms of not using coal].
  • (3) A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed the effects of Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect on evoking upset in spouses through condescension (e.g., treating spouse as stupid or inferior), possessiveness (demanding too much time and attention), abuse (slapping spouse), unfaithfulness (having sex with others), inconsiderateness (leaving toilet seat up), moodiness (crying a lot), alcohol abuse (drinking too much alcohol), emotional constriction (hiding emotions to act tough), and self-centeredness (acting selfishly).
  • (4) A lfred Ekpenyong knows first hand how tough it can be to find a secure foothold in mainstream society after leaving prison.
  • (5) The texture of a food item can be distinguished in hardness, toughness, stickiness, juiciness and chewability.
  • (6) Even as the Obama administration moves to deal with some of Guantánamo's most notorious captives, it faces tough challenges to closing the facility.
  • (7) "It's a tough group but other groups are also tough.
  • (8) This allowed it to claim that it was becoming more professional, tough minded and responsible.
  • (9) The austerity programmes administered by western governments in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis were, of course, intended as a remedy, a tough but necessary course of treatment to relieve the symptoms of debts and deficits and to cure recession.
  • (10) And he pleased the audience with an acknowledgement that social work is a tough job and social workers only human.
  • (11) Trade unions have sought to highlight the insecurity of workers who have been forced into self-employment in the tough jobs market of recent years.
  • (12) UK negotiatiors, though, fought back hard -- thus Cameron's fighting talk in his press conference ( see 12.46pm ) 12.49pm BST Open Europe tweets Cameron's tough talk on the rebate: Open Europe (@OpenEurope) Cameron: in Feb we reached a clear deal rebate would remain unchanged, since then some have tried to question this agreement June 28, 2013 Open Europe (@OpenEurope) Cameron: I defeated these attempts to change the rebate, it will remain unchanged for this long term budget June 28, 2013 12.46pm BST David Cameron press conference underway In Brussels, David Cameron is holding his press conference now.
  • (13) The mechanical properties of compressed beam specimens of microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel pH 101) have been assessed in terms of the tensile strength (sigma t), Young's modulus (E) and the following fracture mechanics parameters: the critical stress intensity factor (KIC), the critical strain energy release rate (GIC) and the fracture toughness (R).
  • (14) "2013 was a tough year for us both in minerals and in oil and gas," Cochrane said, adding that the group had relied on"self help", including diversification which offset some of the challenges in its core mining market, improving operational efficiency, and strong growth in its after sales business, where orders were up 16% on 2012 and which accounted for 63% of revenues last year.
  • (15) "We carved out a few chances, but it was tough to break them down."
  • (16) Channel 5 will be hoping for a similar return for its new series, although with the launch audience around a third down on last year's opener, it may prove a tough ask.
  • (17) Dimon, the charismatic leader of the bank, had enjoyed a reputation as a tough, strict taskmaster, the kind of CEO every bank should have.
  • (18) Cameron put all of his betting chips on what seemed to be the party's trump card: the "vote for us, we're tough on migration and tough on migrants" strategy.
  • (19) As well as limited terms for MPs, Grillo has called for a referendum on the euro and a tough line on immigration.
  • (20) "It's a tough game but our best football has come in this competition and we'll try and show it next week.