as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
with animalistic fury the boxer tore into his opponent
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Recent Examples of animalistic
Their natural scent is complex, and often described as animalistic.
—
Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2025
One quality that distinguishes the very best chess players is killer instinct, an almost animalistic will to win.
—Jordan Himelfarb, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
So much of one’s experience at a restaurant is contextual, dependent on the arc and flow of a meal, and singling out any one specific creation or sensory experience forces me to take stock in a more granular, almost animalistic way.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
Followed by the look of pure, animalistic pleasure.
—Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
To bring in more of the animalistic influence, try styling your little black dress with a crocodile-leather-texture coat.
—Abby Morgan Lebet, Glamour, 24 Nov. 2025
Ones where the monster, their creator, or both are possessed by throbbing, animalistic lust.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
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, 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
Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2025
One quality that distinguishes the very best chess players is killer instinct, an almost animalistic will to win.
—Jordan Himelfarb, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
So much of one’s experience at a restaurant is contextual, dependent on the arc and flow of a meal, and singling out any one specific creation or sensory experience forces me to take stock in a more granular, almost animalistic way.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
Followed by the look of pure, animalistic pleasure.
—Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
To bring in more of the animalistic influence, try styling your little black dress with a crocodile-leather-texture coat.
—Abby Morgan Lebet, Glamour, 24 Nov. 2025
Ones where the monster, their creator, or both are possessed by throbbing, animalistic lust.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
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, 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animalistic
Adjective
-
Josh Jacobs ran with brute force on high volume.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2026
-
There’s not much on 1 IN A MILLION that will blow you away; the beats are of the same unmiraculous mold—Michigan brute force meets Louisiana jig—that has been holding down Florida street rap for the last half-decade, and the lyrics rarely jump off the page on their own.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Between wading or boating into choppy surf, baking in the hot sun, and getting doused in salty spray, the elements are brutal on the human body and the gear meant to withstand them.—
Francesca Krempa,
Outside,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Phạm Lockwood also spoke with Huan Nguyen, the sole survivor of a massacre of a South Vietnamese family in Saigon, a brutal attack allegedly orchestrated by Capt.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
To start with the movie’s strongest asset, Fiennes is magnificent — sinewy and feral in appearance but erudite in manner, his isolation and years of living rough having done little to curb the magniloquence of a posh education.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 2026
-
In 1998, Herrington heard an interview, on NPR, with Rick Varner, who hunted feral hogs for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Channels the inner, bestial urges to release an unworldly howl that pushes back any nearby enemies.—
Oliver Brandt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
-
His nemesis in this series was a bestial Wakandan in a gorilla suit called Man-Ape.—
Ekow Eshun
July 11,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Animalistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalistic. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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