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beastie

beastie

1 8.4
A small imaginary creature in stories that can be friendly or scary
  • noun
  • /ˈbiːsti/
  • Baby Talk
translation icon : monstrito
  • Yeah, you always have a sort of urge to cheer the titular beastie, don't you?

Examples

  • The children were thrilled by the story of the mysterious beastie that lived in the forest.

  • Any idea when Jones might release said terrible beastie?

  • And we find this out as the story proceeds, we learn more and more about the kind of Beastie that he turns out to be.

  • People whispered about a beastie living in that very loch.

  • And you're going to uphold family tradition and slay the beastie.

  • At best, we could step into a crack; at worst, the foliage could conceal some beastie who would like nothing better than to perform an amputation at the ankle.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • In her bedtime tale, she described a friendly beastie who helped lost animals find their way home.

  • They believed that a playful beastie would emerge at night to dance under the moonlight.

Synonyms

monster
vsbeastie
2.2

A large frightening imaginary creature often made of human and animal parts

is smaller and more playful or simple in children's stories
goblin
vsbeastie
  • Literature
105 8.3

A small, ugly creature that causes trouble for people

is more a child story figure used mainly to amuse or frighten children
boogeyman
vsbeastie
  • Baby Talk
34 8.1

An imaginary monster adults mention to scare children into behaving

is more a small story creature that can amuse or frighten children
booger
vsbeastie
  • Archaic
15 9.9

An imaginary creature parents mention to frighten children

is a small story creature used to amuse or scare children
mythical creature
vsbeastie
4 5.9

An imaginary being like a dragon or unicorn with magical powers

is usually smaller and aimed at amusing or scaring children in stories
mythical monster
vsbeastie
1 8.1

A frightening creature from stories or legends that is not real

is smaller and often used directly for children's stories rather than ancient legend

Antonyms

1.4

The way things really are, not how we imagine or wish

Surface Forms

beastie singular
beasties plural

Morphology

beastie = beast (semi-transparent) = beast + ie

The structure is clear, but the specific meaning 'imaginary monster used in stories' is a playful extension rather than a straightforward compositional meaning.

Etymology

Beastie is made from beast 'animal' and the small ending -ie 'little', which gives the sense of a tiny or playful creature. That is why beastie can mean a small imaginary monster in stories.