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beastly
[ beest-lee ]
adjective
- of or like a beast; bestial.
- Informal. nasty; unpleasant; disagreeable.
Synonyms: disgusting, mean, foul, vile, hateful, abominable
adverb
- Chiefly British Informal. very; exceedingly:
It's beastly cold out.
- British Informal. disagreeably; outrageously:
beastly rude.
beastly
/ ˈbiːstlɪ /
adjective
- informal.unpleasant; disagreeable; nasty
beastly weather
- obsolete.of or like a beast; bestial
adverb
- informal.(intensifier)
the weather is so beastly hot
Derived Forms
- ˈbeastliness, noun
Other Words From
- beastli·ness noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of beastly1
Example Sentences
They have a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore and added former New York Giants star runner Saquon Barkley, who figures to be beastly if he can stay healthy.
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.
All of us kids were really excited because we saw them as mythical creatures that were beastly and scary and dangerous.
“I wanted a more conservative court,” Richardson, 54, said on a recent morning when the beastly Arizona summer finally yielded to a temperate taste of fall.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described Palestinians as “beastly people” and said: “We are fighting animals and are acting accordingly.”
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More About Beastly
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.
Where does beastly come from?
The first records of the word beastly come from around 1200. It comes from the Middle English beasteliche.
Its base word, beast, comes from the Latin bēstia, whose original meaning is uncertain. It may have simply been a word meaning “animal.” The suffix -ly is often used to form adverbs and adjectives. Though beast is commonly used in a number of ways, use of beastly is much less common. It’s more common to use synonyms like vile, cruel, or monstrous to describe someone or their actions in such a way.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to beastly?
- beastliness (noun)
- beast (noun)
What are some synonyms for beastly?
What are some words that share a root or word element with beastly?
What are some words that often get used in discussing beastly?
How is beastly used in real life?
Beastly is typically used in a negative way with the exception of its use in British English to mean “very” or “extremely.”
Loss of precious lives in a senseless & beastly attack on people with severe disabilities at a Care Center in Japan has deeply saddened me.
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) July 26, 2016
Any martial art without proper training of the mind turns into beastly behavior.~ Shoshin Nagamine
— Elite Martial Arts (@MyEliteMA) March 22, 2010
#GardenReport: So, beastly cold as it is, I bundled up and went out and did some wintersowing, which was good for my soul. The supervisors also seemed pleased. pic.twitter.com/VIQDhZANMa
— Kyla Houbolt 🌿GreenwayPoet, OwlofyourDreams🔥 (@luaz_poet) January 7, 2021
Try using beastly!
Which of the following words is a synonym of beastly?
A. nasty
B. cruel
C. vile
D. all of the above
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