brutal vs cruel

brutal and cruel both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
brutal	No	Yes	No	No
cruel	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, brutal and cruel are synonyms defined as:

brutal and cruel: (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

Other synonyms of brutal include barbarous, fell, roughshod, savage, vicious.

brutal (adjective)	cruel (adjective)
disagreeably direct and precise	(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
punishingly harsh
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering