beastly

1 of 2

adjective

beast·​ly ˈbēst-lē How to pronounce beastly (audio)
beastlier; beastliest
1
a
: relating to, characteristic of, or resembling an animal : bestial sense 1
beastly strength
Their languages, with complex clicks, were once dismissed as a guttural farrago of beastly sounds.Stephen Jay Gould
b
: characterized by cruelty, brutality, or crudeness
Yet this beastly little man was capable of exquisite humor and tenderness.Edmund Morris
2
informal : extremely unpleasant, disagreeable, or undesirable
beastly weather
It took him ages to get the beastly stuff out of his eyes and eyebrows, and as for his beard, he had to cut most of it off.J. R. R. Tolkien
At the beastly hour of 9:40 a.m. we trudged up to our nosebleed seats, wobbling like prizefighters in the final round, for the NFL preseason game between the Chargers and the Denver Broncos …Gary Smith
3
: monstrously large or powerful
… the staging area was packed with an eclectic mix of vehicles, from humble hatchbacks to beastly trucks.Lisa Rose
Workers with acetylene torches and a beastly contraption called the "dinosaur" are chewing quickly through the rusting old railroad tunnel …Tim O'Neill
beastliness noun

beastly

2 of 2

adverb

chiefly British, informal : to an extreme and usually unpleasant degree
"It's no good pretending it isn't an awkward situation," continued Bob, "because it is. Beastly awkward."P. G. Wodehouse
: in an unpleasant or beastly manner
… an ideological predisposition to believe the Soviet Union will embrace comity if only Washington doesn't act beastly.Woody West

Examples of beastly in a Sentence

Adjective left to shift for himself on an isolated farm, he gradually sank into a beastly, purposeless existence Adverb it's beastly hot today
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Adjective
This relapse tumor meant Trent was battling a beastly form of the disease. Dana Hunsinger Benbow, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Oct. 2024 Star Wars icon Mark Hamill mourns Darth Vader actor James Earl Jones: 'RIP dad' One of Jones' most beloved roles was the kindly Mr. Mertle, the owner of the beastly Hercules and Goliath in The Sandlot and The Sandlot 2. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 10 Sep. 2024
Adverb
For the surfers ready to take on the beautiful, beastly wave called Teahupo’o, riding inside the deep barrel could mean the thrill of their life – or a dangerous dance with disaster. Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 26 May 2024 As part of the intake stroke, a supercharger pulls and squeezes air into the engine to create that beastly whine. Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for beastly 

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

1655, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of beastly was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near beastly

Cite this Entry

“Beastly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beastly. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

beastly

1 of 2 adjective
beast·​ly ˈbēst-lē How to pronounce beastly (audio)
beastlier; beastliest
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a beast : bestial
2
informal : disagreeable sense 1, unpleasant
beastly weather
beastliness noun

beastly

2 of 2 adverb
chiefly British, informal
: very entry 2 sense 1
a beastly cold day

More from Merriam-Webster on beastly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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