bestial

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˈbɛstʃəl/ UK /ˈbɛstɪəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
savagely cruel, brutish, or like a beast

The prisoners endured bestial treatment at the hands of their captors.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · savagely cruel, brutish, or... brutal brutish savage beastly barbaric inhuman feral

Opposites

humane civilized gentle

Word family

Forms bestially

Derived forms bestialitybestiallybestialize

Related forms beastbestiary

Etymology

From Old French bestial, from Latin bēstiālis ('of a beast'), from bēstia ('beast').

bēstiālis Latin bēstia Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# bestial

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈbɛstʃəl
**IPA (UK):** ˈbɛstɪəl

## Meanings
1. savagely cruel, brutish, or like a beast

## Examples
- The prisoners endured bestial treatment at the hands of their captors.

## Synonyms
- brutal
- brutish
- savage
- beastly
- barbaric
- inhuman
- feral

## Antonyms
- humane
- civilized
- gentle

## Derived Forms
- bestiality
- bestially
- bestialize

## Related Forms
- beast
- bestiary

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bēstiālis
- Root: bēstia

## Etymology
From Old French bestial, from Latin bēstiālis ('of a beast'), from bēstia ('beast').

## AI Etymology
Bestial is an adjective meaning "savagely cruel, brutish, or like a beast". Historically, it is from Old French bestial, from Latin bēstiālis ('of a beast'), from bēstia ('beast'). The historical chain links Latin bēstiālis with Latin bēstia. Close English family members include bestiality, bestially, bestialize, beast, and bestiary. This keeps the modern adjective sense tied to the older forms and language sequence behind it.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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bestial

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