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

It also resolves an issue that prevented the Endure Ash of War from activating, as well as a bug that caused players to die during a descent near Bestial Sanctum.

From The Verge • Mar. 23, 2022

Down south, Sepultura scoured South America with their Bestial Devastation EP – unwittingly influencing another gang of Brazilian teenagers to dub themselves Sarcófago and make its dark mark upon the still-embryonic black metal genre.

From The Guardian • Aug. 14, 2015

They are but unclean and evil births and issues of the Bestial Nature, which yet by thy receiving them in thy Desire, have gotten an Image and formed themselves in thee.

From Dialogues on the Supersensual Life by Böhme, Jakob

Bestial, but humanly inarticulate, it filled the air and ceased: there was the loud thud of furniture overthrown, a woman's voice, and silence.

From Moor Fires by Young, E. H. (Emily Hilda)

Bestial, in modern usage, implies an intensified and degrading animalism.

From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin