animality

[ an-uh-mal-i-tee ]

noun

1. the state of being an animal.
2. the animal nature or instincts of human beings.
3. animal kingdom.

animality

/ ˌænɪˈmælɪtɪ /

noun

1. the animal side of man, as opposed to the intellectual or spiritual
2. the fact of being or having the characteristics of an animal

Other Words From

• nonan·i·mali·ty noun
• super·ani·mali·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of animality¹

1605–15; animal + -ity, modeled on carnality ( def )

Example Sentences

"Dracula as a character, as we know, has been done many times. It's been done well a few times, but the lion's share is it's been done not so well. And I think the ones that I looked at as a starting point were of course the Bela Lugosi one. But Bela, as great as he was, that wasn't my Dracula. My Dracula was Christopher Lee. I love his '60s hairdo. I love the clothes. I loved his animality when he was on the attack."

From Salon

The movement for “Afternoon of a Faun” alludes to the two-dimensional choreography of Nijinsky’s dance to that Debussy piece, a nod to a predecessor of Naharin’s stylized animality.

From New York Times

French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu describes the taste of elite social classes as "a systematic refusal of all that is 'human' . . . starting with everything that reduces the aesthetic animal to pure and simple animality, to palpable pleasure and sexual desire."

From Salon

The film, a Times critic’s pick, is a “wild, boldly expressionistic movie” that conveys his animality and un-knowableness.

From New York Times

Skolimowski, by contrast, consistently emphasizes the animality of EO and, by extension, the donkey’s essential un-knowableness and mystery.

From New York Times