bestiality

noun bes·ti·al·i·ty \ ˌbes-chē-ˈa-lə-tē , ˌbesh- , ˌbēs- , ˌbēsh- \

Updated on: 5 Apr 2018

Definition of bestiality

plural bestialities

1 : sexual relations between a human being and a lower animal

2 : the condition or status of a lower (see ³lower 3) animal

… the difference between bestiality and humanity …
—John Dewey

3 : display or gratification of bestial traits or impulses

the bestiality and degradation that war brings
—Drew Middleton

See bestiality defined for English-language learners

Examples of bestiality in a Sentence

I was shocked by the bestiality of their behavior.
by the end of hostilities the populace had been reduced to a level of bestiality that would have been unthinkable before the war

Recent Examples of bestiality from the Web

That is exactly the kind of silly-yet-profound move The Magicians would pull: bury a story about a disenfranchised majority into a little subplot about magical bestiality.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "How The Magicians Turned Margo from Mean Girl to the Show’s Best Character," 29 Mar. 2018
Don’t publicly display or use the Services to share inappropriate content or material (involving, for example, nudity, bestiality, pornography, offensive language, graphic violence, or criminal activity).

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "Microsoft To Ban 'Offensive Language' From Skype," 26 Mar. 2018
Conditt wrote, before comparing legal protections for the LGBT community to the protection of pedophilia or bestiality.

— gilbert garcia, San Antonio Express-News, "Austin serial killer and the Unabomber were linked by alienation," 22 Mar. 2018
The images and videos depicted acts of violence, bondage and bestiality involving children, the document said.

— kim chatelain, NOLA.com, "Covington man gets 9 years for possessing thousands of child porn images," 22 Sep. 2017
The law criminalizing bestiality went into effect March 21, 2017.

— adam ferrise, cleveland.com, "Cleveland man first to be convicted under Ohio's bestiality law," 16 Aug. 2017
And according to 2016 alumnus Donald Scherschligt, who now works with Campus Pride, his alma mater required students to listen to a speech by Pastor Adam Edgerly, who compared homosexuality to pedophilia, bestiality and alcoholism.

— teo armus, NBC News, "‘Shame List’ Identifies 2017’s ‘Absolute Worst’ Schools for LGBTQ Students," 16 Sep. 2017
And this is easy to do because Netflix will greenlight any idea—except, unfortunately, for one about a group of superheroes that Facebook says performs bestiality.

— matt miller, Esquire, "South Park's Mark Zuckerberg Is Hilarious–And Entirely Accurate," 12 Oct. 2017
Federal guidelines require a photo to depict intercourse, bestiality, masturbation, sadomasochistic abuse or lascivious exhibition of genitals to be considered child pornography.

— sean emery, Orange County Register, "Judge throws out evidence in Newport Beach doctor’s child pornography case in which Best Buy techs tipped FBI agents," 18 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bestiality.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.