bestial C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈbɛstʃəl/ UK /ˈbɛstɪəl/ See IPA manual 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... brutalbrutishsavagebeastlybarbaricinhumanferal ↔ Opposites humanecivilizedgentle Word family Forms bestially Derived forms bestialitybestiallybestialize Related forms beastbestiary Etymology AI details From Old French bestial, from Latin bēstiālis ('of a beast'), from bēstia ('beast'). bēstiālis Latin bēstia Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # 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 Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown