beastly

American  

[beest-lee] / ˈbist li /

adjective

beastlier, beastliest

1. of or like a beast; bestial.

2. Informal. nasty; unpleasant; disagreeable.

   Synonyms:

   disgusting, mean, foul, vile, hateful, abominable

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adverb

1. Chiefly British Informal. very; exceedingly.

   It's beastly cold out.

2. British Informal. disagreeably; outrageously.

   beastly rude.

beastly British  

/ ˈbiːstlɪ /

adjective

1. informal unpleasant; disagreeable; nasty

   beastly weather

2. obsolete of or like a beast; bestial

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adverb

1. informal (intensifier)

   the weather is so beastly hot

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

• beastliness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of beastly

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beastly beastlier beastliest

It’s the dog days of summer, with beastly heat, no proper holidays, and an abysmal history.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

“Her Hair” explores disability, vulnerability and the body through the use of crutches and walkers assembled into a beastly figure awash in fake pink locks.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

"I've sometimes been accused of degrading mankind, or insulting human dignity, of making man beastly," he said.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026

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

“Not for us,” he added quickly, “for the Crochan. Sink the beastly pot in the quicksand!”

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

"It would be beastlier still not have enough to eat," was the thought in Virgie's heart.

From The Daughter Pays by Reynolds, Mrs. Baillie

And this war is beastlier than any other, so the rubbish is less counteracted by the decent writers.

From Non-combatants and Others by Macaulay, Rose, Dame

Life somewhat better might content him, But for the gleam of heavenly light which Thou hast lent him: He calls it Reason—thence his power's increased, To be far beastlier than any beast.

From Faust by Taylor, Bayard

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

Now when you're traveling, one of the beastliest things is to have to listen to the blare of someone's portable radio.

From Time Magazine Archive

It’s one of the beastliest things I ever heard. 

From The Gold Bat by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)