beastliness

noun

Definition of beastlinessnext
as in brutality
the manifestation of the traits or the gratification of the appetites of a lower animal a film depicting the sheer beastliness of life in a street gang

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for beastliness
  1. brutality
  2. cruelty
Noun
  • Viral videos of the police brutality on Instagram and YouTube swelled the crowds even further and transformed the protest site into a zone of occupation with the energy of a carnival.
    — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Nixon administration played hardball Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon, for example, attacked coverage of police brutality at the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention as one-sided in favor of antiwar protestors.
    — Heather Hendershot, The Conversation, 31 July 2026
Definition of brutality
Noun
  • The novel does not assign cruelty or compassion to any one community.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026
  • Investigators later obtained an arrest warrant for Peyton Leon Wyrick on a felony animal cruelty charge.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026
Definition of cruelty
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.

Browse Nearby Words

beasties
beastliness
beastly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Beastliness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beastliness. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of mitigate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All