as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
an apocalyptic sci-fi classic in which a lone drifter fights to avoid the bestial existence lived by the mass of survivors
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bestial
Despite bestial brutality and life-limiting economic and social injustices made legal—some existing still—our foreparents clung fiercely to their humanity and envisioned ours.
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Essence, 25 June 2025
Pent-up emotions, regrets, and bestial longings all burst forth in an expansive baritone whose confident quietism distinguishes him from other wispier alt-centric brooders like Daniel Caesar.
—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2025
Pain was also inflicted on the dog deliberately during these bestial acts.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025
While her passion for her husband is tame, her screams for Dickinson’s character are bestial and overwhelming.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for bestial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bestial
Adjective
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Josh Jacobs ran with brute force on high volume.—
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There’s not much on 1 IN A MILLION that will blow you away; the beats are of the same unmiraculous mold—Michigan brute force meets Louisiana jig—that has been holding down Florida street rap for the last half-decade, and the lyrics rarely jump off the page on their own.—
Adjective
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Between wading or boating into choppy surf, baking in the hot sun, and getting doused in salty spray, the elements are brutal on the human body and the gear meant to withstand them.—
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Phạm Lockwood also spoke with Huan Nguyen, the sole survivor of a massacre of a South Vietnamese family in Saigon, a brutal attack allegedly orchestrated by Capt.—
Adjective
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In Lynne Ramsey's psychological thriller, Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic and feral as a young woman who moves into a country house with her partner (Robert Pattinson).—
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They are pinched into a bright, almost surgical nasality or burst loose into grand, sideways arcs, flaring out in a feral yelp.—
Adjective
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Their natural scent is complex, and often described as animalistic.—
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One quality that distinguishes the very best chess players is killer instinct, an almost animalistic will to win.—
Cite this Entry
“Bestial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bestial. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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