animality

noun

an·​i·​mal·​i·​ty ˌa-nə-ˈma-lə-tē How to pronounce animality (audio)
1
: a quality or nature associated with animals:
a
b
: a natural unrestrained unreasoned response to physical drives or stimuli
2
: the animal nature of human beings

Examples of animality in a Sentence

in his portrayal the actor emphasizes the working-class hunk's fundamental animality
Recent Examples on the Web Kafka’s fiction is full of animals who resemble people and people who lapse into animality. Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2023 The study ventures into the intricacies of scientific and quasi-scientific debates in the 19th century, and treats 19th century science as embedded in a myth featuring divinity, humanity and animality as principal characters. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2012 Haushofer’s inhabiting of animality is remarkably tender and selfless. James Wood, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2022 In the short pas de deux of the savages, which came as the finale of the Revue Nègre, there was a wild splendor and magnificent animality. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 It’s the thought of not being able to keep alive her two pets, whose fragile animality animates the stakes from the outset. Naveen Kumar, Variety, 11 Oct. 2021 Linking women with animality and monstrosity is common in pop culture, and there are a number of female werewolf precedents. BostonGlobe.com, 16 July 2021 The latter fragrance, in a smooth-contoured bottle, was a blend of pure musk and animality, primal as the fossilized DNA of our species preserved in amber. New York Times, 10 May 2021 Orientals were once celebrated for harnessing a kind of raw, sensuous animality. New York Times, 10 May 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'animality.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of animality was in 1615

Dictionary Entries Near animality

Cite this Entry

“Animality.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animality. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

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