bestial

American  

[bes-chuhl, bees-] / ˈbɛs tʃəl, ˈbis- /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or having the form of a beast.

   the belief that a person could assume bestial form after death;

   the bestial signs of the zodiac.

2. without reason or intelligence; brutal; inhuman.

   bestial treatment of prisoners.

3. beastlike in gratifying one's sensual desires; carnal; debased.

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bestial British  

/ ˈbɛstɪəl /

adjective

1. brutal or savage

2. sexually depraved; carnal

3. lacking in refinement; brutish

4. of or relating to a beast

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Other Word Forms

• bestially adverb

Etymology

Origin of bestial

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, either from Anglo-French or directly from Late Latin bēstiālis ( Latin bēsti(a) beast + -ālis -al ¹ )

Explanation

Bestial sounds like beast, and that is precisely what it means, "beast-like." When a human acts like an animal, their behavior is called bestial. Bestial is often used to describe behavior that is primitive or uncivilized. If someone living on a desert island took to grunting and crawling on all fours searching for bugs in dirt, you could say she had descended to the bestial.

Example Sentences

Although he welcomed the Gladstone apology in Guyana, he said the failure to acknowledge Jamaica hinted at "an unwillingness to face up to the full brutal, bestial horror of chattel slavery" in the country.

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2023

They couldn’t see me and I couldn’t see them, but in the explosive clamor of snorting and hooves, I fancied I was caught up in some colossal bestial panic that would crush me to death.

From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2019

In an interview with The Verge from 2016, Ueda largely attributed this to the difficulties in bestial cat / bird / dog Trico’s technical design.

From The Verge • Dec. 2, 2019

Gollum guía a Frodo y Sam a Mordor mientras Aragorn y sus compañeros defienden a Rohan del bestial ejército de Saruman.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2019

Was that a kind of bestial derision that he detected in those blank grey eyes?

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley