beastly 1 of 2

adjective

ˈbēst-lē How to pronounce beastly (audio)
Definition of beastlynext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

beastly

2 of 2

adverb

as in extremely
to a great degree it's beastly hot today

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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
Adjective
Three of this beastly bunch were checked off during our six spectacular hours in Tsavo. — David Dickstein, Oc Register, 18 Mar. 2026 An American Werewolf in London' (1981) American dudes backpacking in England get attacked by a werewolf, one of them becomes a beastly nuisance on the full moon, and things get bloody freaky in old London Town. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Adverb
Logan is super skilled, beastly strong. — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 24 Feb. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for beastly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beastly
  1. brute
  2. extremely
  3. brutal
  4. very
  5. feral
  6. terribly
  7. incredibly
  8. damn
Adjective
  • No headliner has ever been an ex–drug dealer whose entire mythos is wrapped up in transmuting block-boy brilliance into boardroom brute force.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Rather than putting the rock into the arms of one of his reliable running backs and brute-forcing the 2 yards, Danielson kept the ball in fifth-year quarterback Maddux Madsen’s hands.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of brute
Adverb
  • How Cube Steak Is Used and Cooked Cube steak is extremely versatile.
    — Natalia Vela, Southern Living, 3 Nov. 2026
  • California has gotten extremely soft on accountability with youth.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of extremely
Adjective
  • This version, though, is brutal, his voice acerbic and his guitar serrated.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 7 Nov. 2026
  • And through eight games this season, those two words have defined the majority of the third-year wing’s experience on the court for the Chicago Bulls, who are 1-7 after a brutal trio of road losses in the last week.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adverb
  • The brothers returned to Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center on Tuesday, a little more than a year since their last concert there and on a very big election night for the country.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2026
  • On November 2, robot dogs – and other kinds of machines built for locomotion of some kind – took part in the very first World Robot Mount Taishan Climbing Competition in Tai'an, in China's Shandong province.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of very
Adjective
  • That cute little feral furball was mean as hell and bit, scratched, and ultimately abandoned the family.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In the most recent film, human beings become feral primitives in a classic role reversal.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of feral
Adverb
  • The North Carolina state legislator Jennifer Balkcom wasn’t terribly well-known before this election cycle.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026
  • By focusing on the brain’s extraordinary—and still under-recognized—capacity for repair, Swain doesn’t encourage us to marvel at the many ways in which things can go terribly wrong.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of terribly
Adverb
  • Fortunately for the script, other British and Hessian reënactors had arrived via freeway and the incredibly vast Orchard Beach parking lot.
    — Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Humanity is both incredibly advanced and evolved and deeply stunted.
    — Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of incredibly
Adverb
  • Perhaps the biggest and most motivating truth is that prices are too damn high, which comes with the corollary that Trump has no one to blame for this but himself.
    — Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Because the rent is so damn high, there was real money to be made.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of damn

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Cite this Entry

“Beastly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beastly. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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