bestiality

[ bes-chee-al-i-tee, bees- ]

noun

, plural bes·ti·al·i·ties.

1. brutish or beastly character or behavior; beastliness.
2. indulgence in beastlike appetites, instincts, impulses, etc.
3. an instance of bestial character or behavior.
4. sexual relations between a person and an animal; sodomy.

bestiality

/ ˌbɛstɪˈælɪtɪ /

noun

1. bestial behaviour, character, or action
2. sexual activity between a person and an animal

Word History and Origins

Origin of bestiality¹

1350–1400; Middle English bestial ( i ) te (< Anglo-French, Middle French ) < Medieval Latin bēstiālitās. See bestial, -ity

Example Sentences

She wrote that Christopher Columbus and members of his expedition described the native Americans’ consumption of insects as “bestiality… greater than that of any beast upon the face of the earth”.

From BBC

It was “the right call” to refuse “letters that bordered on illegality or bestiality or incest”, she says.

From BBC

Along with 56 charges of animal cruelty and bestiality, he also admitted to four counts of accessing child abuse material.

From BBC

Adam Britton, a leading zoologist who has worked on BBC and National Geographic productions, pleaded guilty to 56 charges relating to bestiality and animal cruelty.

From BBC

The "chaos and anarchy" that Johnson referred to included, in his view, polygamy, pedophilia, and bestiality.

From Salon