bestial
UK /ˈbɛs.ti.əl/ · US /ˈbɛs.t͡ʃəl/ adjective, noun
Synonyms
animalian beastly animalesque animalish animalistic animal-like brutish brute brutal
Etymology
From Middle English bestial, from Old French bestial, from Late Latin bēstiālis, from Latin bēstia (“beast”) (whence English beast).
From Middle Scots bestiall, from Middle English bestayle, from Old French bestaille, from Late Latin bēstiālia; later reinforced and remodelled on Middle French bestial, itself from Late Latin bēstiālis.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Belonging to a beast, or to the class of beasts.
- adjective Having the qualities of a beast; brutal; below the dignity of reason or humanity; irrational; carnal; beastly; sensual. Shak.
- noun A domestic animal; also collectively, cattle; as, other kinds of bestial. [Scot.]
Etymology [F. bestial, L. bestialis, fr. bestia beast. See Beast.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bestial”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details