brunt
/bɹʌnt/noun, verb
brunt is spelled B-R-U-N-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, brunt means “The full adverse effects; the chief consequences or negative results of a thing or event” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of brunt is brunts.
How many letters and syllables are in brunt?
| Letters | 5: B-R-U-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is brunt?
Brunt appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce brunt?
- /bɹʌnt/
- /bɹʊnt/
Brunt has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-brunt.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with brunt?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as brunt.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: burnt.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of brunt
- brunts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- brunting participle, present
- brunted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brunt mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The full adverse effects; the chief consequences or negative results of a thing or event.
Unfortunately, poor areas such as those in New Orleans bore the brunt of Hurricane Katrina’s winds.
- 2
The force or shock of an attack in war.
- 3
The major part of something; the bulk.
If you feel tired of walking, just think of the poor donkey who has carried the brunt of our load.
- 4
obsoleteA violent attack or charge in battle.
- 5
obsoleteA sudden harmful onset or attack (of disease, unbelief, persecution, etc.).
- 6
obsoleteA spurt, a sudden effort or straining.
verb
- 1
rareTo bear the brunt of; to weather or withstand.
- 2
obsoleteTo make a violent attack or charge.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Brunt in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Hauptlast, Wucht , Hauptsache , aushalten, ertragen |
| Spanish | mayor fuerza, lo más duro, peor parte |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does brunt come from?
From Middle English brunt, bront (“sudden onset, attack, charge, blow”), from Old Norse brundr or brundtíð (“oestrus, rut”) (from Proto-Germanic *brunstiz), or bruna (“to rush”, literally “to advance like wildfire”) (see brenna).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).