beastly
Americanadjective
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of or like a beast; bestial.
-
Informal. nasty; unpleasant; disagreeable.
- Synonyms:
- disgusting, mean, foul, vile, hateful, abominable
adverb
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Chiefly British Informal. very; exceedingly.
It's beastly cold out.
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British Informal. disagreeably; outrageously.
beastly rude.
adjective
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informal unpleasant; disagreeable; nasty
beastly weather
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obsolete of or like a beast; bestial
adverb
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of beastly
1175–1225; Middle English beasteliche, later be ( e ) stly. See beast, -ly ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"We have all the brilliant classic pantomime elements: a beastly baddie, a heroic heroine, amazing dance routines and side-splitting comedy," said Ms Wood.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
For centuries, the Greek Gorgon Medusa has been cast as a vicious monster, a beastly woman with writhing snakes for hair and a deadly gaze that turns living creatures to stone.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2024
Dahl’s books, with their mischievous children, strange beasts and often beastly adults, have sold more than 300 million copies and continue to be read by children around the world.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2023
The use of the word "ugly" to describe a character will also be changed, such as in the case of the character Mrs Twit in "The Twits," who will now be called "beastly" instead.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2023
“It will never be the same! Oh, it is the fault of that beastly Crochan! The wretched thing struck at me deliberately, I’m sure!”
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
As a zombie, his utterances make him seem beastlier than ever to the other humans he encounters.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2026
As the wolf is to the wildcat—the lobos defeated Davidson’s felines in the second round—the tiger is to the wolf: bigger and beastlier.
From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2012
Because I was a beastlier beast than YOU be.
From His Dog by Terhune, Albert Payson
“You make me feel such a beastly cad—the son of a beastlier cad—” She turned and laid her hand upon his lips, shaking her head at him reprovingly.
From The Triumph of Jill by Young, F.E. Mills
He calls it Reason—thence his power's increased To be far beastlier than any beast.
From The History of Dartmouth College by Smith, Baxter Perry
The TLS editor, Stig Abell, protested that exposure had been achieved in the beastliest sort of way, involving money, as opposed to via the more agreeable, practical criticism.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 8, 2016
And most of all, they had Marshawn Lynch, the beastliest runner in the game.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2015
And then there’s the mobster Isaac, who speaks in his refined accent about the beauty of the opera but may be the beastliest beast of all.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2012
If we are to survive as a great republic, we must have the best, not the beastliest, from everyone.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was about the beastliest moment of my life, for I'm no good at these cold-blooded resolutions.
From The Thirty-Nine Steps by Buchan, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
