brute vs assailant

brute and assailant both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
brute	Yes	Yes	No	No
assailant	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, assailant is a hypernym of brute; that is, assailant is a word with a broader meaning than brute:

Other hypernyms of brute include aggressor, assaulter, attacker.

brute (noun)	assailant (noun)
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement	someone who attacks
a cruelly rapacious person

brute (adjective)	assailant (adjective)
resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility