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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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
  • As rules and institutions constrain less and brute power matters more, countries will seek partners to help them blunt sanctions, access critical technologies, compensate for military weaknesses, expand their room for maneuver, and resist isolation.
    — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Security features include free SSL certificates, daily off-site backups, DDoS protection, malware scanning, a Web Application Firewall, brute-force protection, and two-factor authentication.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of brute
Adverb
  • Some wondered whether Schrödinger’s equation might be an approximation that works extremely well at the microscopic scale but breaks down at the macroscopic scale, which would mean the measurement postulate of the Copenhagen interpretation is right.
    — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In the meantime, no one should refrain from using sunscreen, which is extremely well-proven to cause cancer.
    — Tracy Middleton, Allure, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of extremely
Adjective
  • Especially for a team that's played a brutal schedule through the first six weeks.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The Broncos get a long weekend off after their brutal six-week opening stretch.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adverb
  • One of the other things that Claude noticed was that these array of associated reverse transcriptases seem to be isolated to jumbo phages, which have very large genomes for bacteriophage.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
  • There’s very few cases where a fan actually gets to stand beside the man and add onto the man’s legacy.
    — Christine Imarenezor, VIBE.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of very
Adjective
  • While uptight Elinor excels at hiding her feelings for the similarly taciturn Edward, Marianne goes wild (nearly feral, really) when new neighbor Willoughby saves her from physical injury (literally sweeping her off her feet and a wincing ankle).
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The murder of the family is graphic enough, but what happens to Ethan and Ivy is far more perverse, especially when Ivy’s apparently dead body is defiled by one of the feral desert gang members.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of feral
Adverb
  • Another issue is that AI detectors are still not terribly reliable, which Vara addresses in her piece, citing a number of studies to bolster the credentials of Pangram.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Probably nothing too terribly bad, especially since Denver has done it without much offensive consistency.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of terribly
Adverb
  • While these issues can be addressed, the costs can be incredibly high, and under Florida law, developers are only on the hook for anything identified within the first seven years after a building is handed over to the homeowners association.
    — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The pre-selection debates about three- or four-loss SEC squads and some team no one actually watches will prove incredibly tiresome, too.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of incredibly
Adverb
  • Because the rent is so damn high, there was real money to be made.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The play broke the dam for an offense — and particularly a run game — that last year looked pretty damn broken.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 5 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 20 Oct. 2026.

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