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"brutal" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often grueling (8 letters).
Definitions
disagreeably direct and precise
Word origin
From Medieval Latin brutalis (“savage, stupid”), from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid”).
Used in a sentence
“The game was brutal, but after a bloodbath he finally won.”
“What began as a zeitgeisty outlaw romp in the Uncool Britannia of the 1990s is now reborn as a scabrous and brutal black comedy about middle-aged male disappointment and fear of death.”
“brutal honesty”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Savage”6 letters
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