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.

---

bestial British  

/ ˈbɛstɪəl /

adjective

1. brutal or savage

2. sexually depraved; carnal

3. lacking in refinement; brutish

4. of or relating to a beast

---

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

Sparkle pony or not, this year proved that even with lavish accommodations like RVs and power drops, Burning Man is a bestial experience — which is apropos considering the theme this year was “Animalia.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2023

Although he welcomed the Gladstone apology in Guyana, he said the failure to acknowledge Jamaica hinted at "an unwillingness to face up to the full brutal, bestial horror of chattel slavery" in the country.

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2023

In an interview with The Verge from 2016, Ueda largely attributed this to the difficulties in bestial cat / bird / dog Trico’s technical design.

From The Verge • Dec. 2, 2019

And you said that one of the things that was interesting to you about America was that, despite bestial behavior, we had failed to produce a nation of beasts.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 7, 2019

Something outside roared, a thunderous bellow of bestial ferocity.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull