beastly

[ beest-lee ]

adjective

, beast·li·er, beast·li·est.

1. of or like a beast; bestial.
2. Informal. nasty; unpleasant; disagreeable.

   Synonyms: disgusting, mean, foul, vile, hateful, abominable

adverb

1. Chiefly British Informal. very; exceedingly:

   It's beastly cold out.

2. British Informal. disagreeably; outrageously:

   beastly rude.

beastly

/ ˈbiːstlɪ /

adjective

1. informal.
   unpleasant; disagreeable; nasty

   beastly weather

2. obsolete.
   of or like a beast; bestial

adverb

1. informal.
   (intensifier)

   the weather is so beastly hot

Derived Forms

• ˈbeastliness, noun

Other Words From

• beastli·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of beastly¹

1175–1225; Middle English beasteliche, later be ( e ) stly. See beast, -ly ( def )

Example Sentences

The MSI Vector GP66 packs Intel’s most powerful 12th-generation mobile processor, the beastly Core i9-12900H, making it a processing powerhouse.

From Popular-Science

Some medical ethicists called the operation a “beastly business” that lacked moral clarity.

From Science News

AmazonFoam rolling after a beastly workout can help prevent injuries.

From Popular-Science

Think about all of the sitcoms you’ve seen where family members are beastly to each other, only for them to realize in the end that they’re family and that means something.

From Vox

In “The Devil Wears Prada,” which premiered in 2006, Anne Hathaway’s tortured underling gets to prove that she does know better than her beastly boss.

From Washington Post

Fumes filled the arena, engines revved, and the beastly vehicles made their way out on to the spotlight.

From The Daily Beast

In 2010 Samaras gave TFLCar.com a tour of his beastly vehicle and the instruments he used to monitor storms.

From The Daily Beast

And werewolves were about losing yourself to your “beastly side,” which must have been terrifying if you were a Victorian.

From The Daily Beast

It'll be beastly dull for her at The Warren, you see, poor girl; and she doesn't seem to jump at Spunyarn, though he does hang on.

From Project Gutenberg

Beastly nuisance; we shall all have to clear out, for I suppose it won't be a mere matter of scratches.

From Project Gutenberg

The submarine scare is full on; the beastly things have frightened us more than all the Turks and all their German guns.

From Project Gutenberg

The weather was what the natives call "beastly hot," and really was as near an approach to summer as we had experienced so far.

From Project Gutenberg

"Don't sing those beastly things," I said to Marguerite, imploringly.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Beastly

What does beastly mean?

Beastly is used to describe a person or behavior that’s nasty, vile, or cruel.

The word beast sometimes simply means a large animal, but it’s also often used to refer to a kind of monster. This sense of the word is sometimes used figuratively to refer to a person in a way that likens them to a monster and implies that they behave in a crude, brutish, or animalistic way. This is often what’s implied by the word beastly.

Beastly can also mean unpleasant or disagreeable, as in beastly weather.

In British English, beastly is sometimes used as an informal intensifier to mean very, extremely, or outrageously, as in It’s beastly cold out there or That was a beastly rude thing to do. In this case, beastly is used as an adverb, rather than an adjective.

Example: We condemn this beastly attack and the terrorists who perpetrated it.

Where does beastly come from?

The first records of the word beastly come from around 1200. It comes from the Middle English beasteliche.

Its base word, beast, comes from the Latin bēstia, whose original meaning is uncertain. It may have simply been a word meaning “animal.” The suffix -ly is often used to form adverbs and adjectives. Though beast is commonly used in a number of ways, use of beastly is much less common. It’s more common to use synonyms like vile, cruel, or monstrous to describe someone or their actions in such a way.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to beastly?

• beastliness (noun)
• beast (noun)

What are some synonyms for beastly?

• vile
• nasty
• cruel
• monstrous
• brutish
• unpleasant
• disagreeable

What are some words that share a root or word element with beastly? 

• bestiary
• bestial

What are some words that often get used in discussing beastly?

• behavior
• actions
• attack
• violence
• weather

How is beastly used in real life?

Beastly is typically used in a negative way with the exception of its use in British English to mean “very” or “extremely.”

Loss of precious lives in a senseless & beastly attack on people with severe disabilities at a Care Center in Japan has deeply saddened me.

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) July 26, 2016

Any martial art without proper training of the mind turns into beastly behavior.~ Shoshin Nagamine

— Elite Martial Arts (@MyEliteMA) March 22, 2010

#GardenReport: So, beastly cold as it is, I bundled up and went out and did some wintersowing, which was good for my soul. The supervisors also seemed pleased. pic.twitter.com/VIQDhZANMa

— Kyla Houbolt 🌿GreenwayPoet, OwlofyourDreams🔥 (@luaz_poet) January 7, 2021

 

Try using beastly!

Which of the following words is a synonym of beastly? 

A. nasty
B. cruel
C. vile
D. all of the above