Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective bestial differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of bestial are brutal, brutish, and feral. While all these words mean "characteristic of an animal in nature, action, or instinct," bestial suggests a state of degradation unworthy of humans and fit only for beasts.

bestial depravity

In what contexts can brutal take the place of bestial?

The words brutal and bestial can be used in similar contexts, but brutal applies to people, their acts, or their words and suggests a lack of intelligence, feeling, or humanity.

a senseless and brutal war

When is it sensible to use brutish instead of bestial?

While the synonyms brutish and bestial are close in meaning, brutish stresses likeness to an animal in low intelligence, in base appetites, and in behavior based on instinct.

brutish stupidity

When can feral be used instead of bestial?

While in some cases nearly identical to bestial, feral suggests the savagery or ferocity of wild animals.

the struggle to survive unleashed their feral impulses

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bestial Despite bestial brutality and life-limiting economic and social injustices made legal—some existing still—our foreparents clung fiercely to their humanity and envisioned ours. Essence, 25 June 2025 Pent-up emotions, regrets, and bestial longings all burst forth in an expansive baritone whose confident quietism distinguishes him from other wispier alt-centric brooders like Daniel Caesar. Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2025 Pain was also inflicted on the dog deliberately during these bestial acts. Kc Baker, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025 While her passion for her husband is tame, her screams for Dickinson’s character are bestial and overwhelming. Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 7 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for bestial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bestial
Adjective
  • Instead of brute-force computation or countless lines of custom code, AI uses advanced algorithms to spot patterns, organize massive datasets, and highlight issues that might otherwise take weeks of manual work to uncover.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Where its larger cousin evolved for brute strength with thick legs and a bone-crushing bite, Nanotyrannus took a different approach to hunting prey.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Here's everything to know about the late female killer and her brutal crimes.
    Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The grisly events in El Fasher come over two and a half years into a brutal civil war that has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people.
    Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • There are currently between 60 and 100 million stray and feral cats roaming the streets in the United States, and most shelters are constantly at full capacity.
    Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The Florida park is home to a healthy population of feral, non-native rhesus macaques.
    Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Dæmons seem to be an outward manifestation of the complex nature of humans that encompasses, male, female and animalistic characteristics that hint towards the breaking of gender binaries and the possibilities of interspecies relations.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Scary Farm visitors will enter the maze as military recruits arriving at the secret lab to be transformed into animalistic super soldiers using one of three methods — surgery, chemical treatments or genetic mutations.
    Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bestial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bestial. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.

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