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Definition of "bestial" [bes•tial]

  • Beastly. (adjective)
  • Marked by brutality or depravity. (adjective)
  • Lacking in intelligence or reason; subhuman. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "bestial" in a sentence
  • "Kit put down his head and pretended to run at him, whereat Jock, whom nobody else dared go near, beamed upon him with the solemn affection of "bestial" -- his great eyes shining in the light of the lamp with unlovely but genuine affection."
  • "Knowing the youths were somewhat green and "bestial" --"
  • "It is evident that he keeps a Bestiary, or record of his experiences in bestiology, otherwise called bestial eikonography; and if he be requested to give a more explicit definition of the article, he will perhaps inform you that it is a record of the types of the ecclesiological symbolisation of beasts."