as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
left to shift for himself on an isolated farm, he gradually sank into a beastly, purposeless existence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in extremely
to a great degree
it's beastly hot today
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 beastly
Tessa Thompson, IndieWire, 30 Nov. 2025
While its smiling face looks up at you sweetly, its 620W motor generates a beastly 2300mm of H2O of suction pressure.
—Alex Harrington, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
Protecting Renda is a beastly offensive line with multiple high-profile recruits, including junior Michigan pledge Tristan Dare, junior Oklahoma pledge Luke Wilson and senior Memphis pledge Carey Clayton.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for beastly
Adjective
Which is a testament to her incredible ability and power as an actor to be taking on two of the most canonical, beastly parts for women in literature.
—Tessa Thompson, IndieWire, 30 Nov. 2025
While its smiling face looks up at you sweetly, its 620W motor generates a beastly 2300mm of H2O of suction pressure.
—Alex Harrington, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Adverb
In this tale as old as time, local bookworm Belle (Paige O'Hara) travels to a faraway castle where her father is being held captive by a prince–turned–beastly creature.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
Protecting Renda is a beastly offensive line with multiple high-profile recruits, including junior Michigan pledge Tristan Dare, junior Oklahoma pledge Luke Wilson and senior Memphis pledge Carey Clayton.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for beastly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beastly
Adjective
-
The goal wasn’t to shape or combat any one particular narrative, but to complicate the entire story through brute force.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
-
The cracks are widening in the cult of Homelander, and brute force isn’t solving the problem.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026
Adverb
-
But even Black athletes whose athleticism gifted them an extremely exclusive express lane in life can tell you stories about growing up a minority in America, or tales their parents or grandparents have told.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
-
The theory of quantum electrodynamics (QED) suggests that when light at extremely high intensities interacts with the vacuum, it can be converted into matter.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
The creature-feature horror film plunges into the jungles of the Dominican Republic, where a group of road workers battling brutal conditions encounter the Ciguapa — a terrifying figure from local folklore with backward feet and the power to possess men through her gaze.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
15 May 2026
-
Anyone familiar with the show knows what comes next probably won't be pretty, but even diehard fans will be shocked by how brutal Scattered Hopes can be.—
Ian Stokes,
Space.com,
15 May 2026
Adverb
-
But Justin is very different from book to screen.—
Jennifer McClellan,
USA Today,
17 May 2026
-
In isolation, Liverpool’s summer 2025 business was very good, but there are so many mitigating factors to consider.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
Starring Gervais, Diane Morgan and Tom Basden, Alley Cats follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of society.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
7 May 2026
-
Let women be monstrous, disgusting, angry, feral creatures!—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 May 2026
Adverb
-
Second, the only games the Spurs have lost in this series are when either Wemby has played terribly or gotten thrown out of the game.—
Geoff Clark OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
But even doing very little can still go terribly wrong.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2026
Adverb
-
Football clubs are filled with talented professionals who work incredibly hard.—
Shivaas Gulati,
Sportico.com,
12 May 2026
-
While that sort of payday would be life-changing for the overwhelming majority of humans walking the planet, Reitan is the exception, thanks to his historic and incredibly lucrative family business.—
Mark Harris OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
Adverb
-
The Nobel-prize-winning novelist Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) go on an unsentimental journey in 1949 through West and East Germany in Pawel Pawlikowski’s damn-near perfect period piece Fatherland.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
-
After a lifetime of being told to stay quiet and smile, screaming your truths or slamming them out on a drum set feels damn good.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beastly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beastly. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
