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
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
The key characters share in their alterity and summon the animalistic archetype of the stray, behaviorally and physiologically.
—Olivia Bennett, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
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
The key characters share in their alterity and summon the animalistic archetype of the stray, behaviorally and physiologically.
—Olivia Bennett, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animalistic
Adjective
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But Hunter is larger than Strus, can man more brute opponents and churned out one of the more versatile shooting seasons of 2024-25.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Perhaps above all, the film demonstrates that Kerr, in spite of his brute force in the ring, is a vulnerable guy looking for love and attention.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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For more than 40 years, the person responsible for the brutal rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl on Long Island has eluded capture.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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Behind him, officials key to his brutal rule made a mass exodus, virtually undetected.—
Danny Makki,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The animals are difficult to survey, but experts estimate that the United States is now home to at least six million feral hogs, descendants of those early farm animals and Eurasian wild boars that arrived later.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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For example, in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, invasive species like rats and feral cats are considered one of the main causes of extinctions, including to the islands’ famous birds.—
Jessica Beaudette,
The Conversation,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Channels the inner, bestial urges to release an unworldly howl that pushes back any nearby enemies.—
Oliver Brandt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
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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 23 Oct. 2025.
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