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
PC Magazine, 9 July 2025
The gas version can be outfitted with either a 4.6-liter 600 hp mill or a beastly 5.0-liter engine good for 1,200 hp and a gut-punching 12,000 RPM.
—New Atlas, 4 July 2025
Matt Villano, CNN Money, 25 June 2025
Maybe if the film truly built Conor and O’Shea and their Demolition Mixed Martial Arts studio as a beastly powerhouse (à la the once-fearsome Cobra Kai), some concern, some suspense might have stirred within us.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for beastly
Adjective
The even beastlier Ryzen 9 9950X3D, with AMD’s 3D V-Cache tech, offers better gaming performance thanks to its specialized cache component.
—PC Magazine, 9 July 2025
The gas version can be outfitted with either a 4.6-liter 600 hp mill or a beastly 5.0-liter engine good for 1,200 hp and a gut-punching 12,000 RPM.
—New Atlas, 4 July 2025
Adverb
Part of this is on Mother Nature; summer temperatures can hit a beastly 115 in the Mojave Desert, a harsh reality that can literally fry an egg on Las Vegas Boulevard and historically has made July and August two of the quietest months of the year in Sin City.
—Matt Villano, CNN Money, 25 June 2025
Maybe if the film truly built Conor and O’Shea and their Demolition Mixed Martial Arts studio as a beastly powerhouse (à la the once-fearsome Cobra Kai), some concern, some suspense might have stirred within us.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for beastly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beastly
Adjective
-
Their crime was raising their voices against a repressive government that relied on brute force and surveillance of its citizens for its survival, a regime whose authority rested on force and fear.—
Binaifer Nowrojee,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
-
As the sector transitions from the initial brute-force stage of training large models to the challenge of running them affordably and efficiently on a large scale, designers are dividing into rival factions.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Where these winds coincide with heavy snow, blizzard conditions are possible, with near-zero visibility and extremely dangerous travel, particularly along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and into southeast Virginia.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Therefore, telling the story in graphic form on behalf of Ukrainians themselves, explaining the preconditions for Russia’s attempts to erase Ukraine as a sovereign country and Ukrainians as an ethnic group, became extremely relevant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
With the benefit of hindsight, analysts and investors have blamed much of Kraft Heinz’s downward spiral on the brutal cost-cutting strategy imposed after the merger.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Unrelenting cold in storm’s aftermath Last weekend’s historic winter storm and the brutal cold that followed have been blamed for at least 85 deaths in the US, the Associated Press reported.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Tucked in among all of the many things that Pep Guardiola has got off his chest about referees over the past couple of weeks was a very small detail that might explain an awful lot.—
Sam Lee,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Yes, there's a very pretty swath of sand leading to the Atlantic Ocean, where lifeguards keep watch every day of the year.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
To start with the movie’s strongest asset, Fiennes is magnificent — sinewy and feral in appearance but erudite in manner, his isolation and years of living rough having done little to curb the magniloquence of a posh education.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Jan. 2026
-
In 1998, Herrington heard an interview, on NPR, with Rick Varner, who hunted feral hogs for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The problem being that Bungie has another game, Destiny 2, that players have invested in for a decade now, at Bungie is not being terribly forthcoming about what’s coming as of yet.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Bart Layton made his feature debut in 2018 with American Animals, a great hybrid true-crime story that used doc techniques to tell the story of a supposedly victimless art heist that went terribly wrong.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
San Dieguito’s Director of Teaching Learning and Education Brieahna Weatherford said getting to this point has been incredibly challenging, the culmination of two years of work.—
Karen Billing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
At liftoff, there’s this incredibly gorgeous orange glow that came out of the bottom of the launch pad.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The rooftop pool was phenomenal, with gorgeous views and a daiquiri that was pretty damn good.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Giannis was a damn good reason.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beastly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beastly. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
