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bestial

6 8.5
Very cruel and violent like an angry wild animal
  • adjective
  • /ˈbɛstʃəl/
translation icon : bestial
  • Like the beast, he was ruled by bestial emotion.

And that is dominated by these tribes of of bestial creatures called the shrunk.

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Examples

  • For he will eventually be delivered from his bestial state.

    Academic text (1996)
  • As IDRIS approaches, he scrambles away, reduced to his bestial state again.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • And man in the natural today is most bestial, except when he is controlled by the Spirit of God.

    Blog text (26)
  • Theirs is a bestial world.

  • Like father, like son, he is just another one of his bestial ancestors.

    Blog text (25)
  • When given the option, man always reverts back to his most bestial character.

  • I have lost the immortal part of myself... ...and what remains is bestial.

  • These deeds make so evident the bestial nature of those who would assume power if they could have their way and drive us out of that area.

  • The moaning shifts into low gear, more guttural and bestial.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • His bestial behavior during the fight shocked everyone who knew him.

Synonyms

brutal
vsbestial
  • NSFW
229 4.8

Very cruel and violent, causing pain or suffering

is broader, covering savage, unreasoning behaviour and lack of human compassion
brute
vsbestial
  • Offensive
24 6.0

Using physical force without thought or care

is more about being wild and savage rather than only lacking sensibility
brutish
vsbestial
  • Offensive
13 7.2

Cruel and violent, showing no kindness

is more about violent savagery and loss of reason rather than mere insensitivity
beastly
vsbestial
3 6.5

Cruel and showing no care for other people like an animal

is more about lacking reason and deeper human qualities rather than coarse cruelty
animalian
vsbestial
  • Archaic
7.6

Acts like an animal because of strong instinct or violent behavior

is more about lacking reason and human compassion rather than mere instinct

Antonyms

90 3.4

Showing kindness and care to people or animals to avoid suffering

29 4.3

Advanced in social and cultural development and polite in behaviour

Compounds

8.9

A very cruel action that shows no human feeling

8.4

Very cruel or violent actions like those of a wild animal that hurt people

9.0

A very violent, uncontrolled fight like animals fighting

How Brutal

monstrous
27 7.3
savage
  • NSFW
27 4.5
bestial
6 8.5
brutal
142 4.2
cruel
522 2.7
unkind
44 1.0

Surface Forms

bestial positive
bestialer comparative
bestialest superlative

Morphology

bestial = beast (transparent) = beast + ial

Meaning is directly formed from the noun 'beast' with the standard adjective-forming suffix '-ial' meaning 'of or like a beast'.

Etymology

Bestial comes from the Latin word bestia meaning 'animal' and is the same root as the English beast. So to call someone's actions 'bestial' is to say they are like an animal, brutal and without human kindness.