: relating to, characteristic of, or resembling an animal : bestialsense 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
Adjective left to shift for himself on an isolated farm, he gradually sank into a beastly, purposeless existence
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
There’s no evidence that carnivorous plants acquired any of their beastly habits by hijacking genes from their animal victims, says Hedrich, although genes do sometimes pass from one type of organism to another. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Mar. 2022 Back here on Earth, an image of this beastly beauty is perhaps the most famous shots ever snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope in its almost 30 years of operation.Popular Science, 14 Apr. 2020 The Serengeti is one of the world's greatest lion lairs, with around 2,800 beastly kings marauding about the 5,700-square-mile park. Allie Morris, Dallas News, 13 Apr. 2020 There are some beastly devices out there that max out at 4TB or 5TB—that will be necessary for some, but those drives also necessitate higher prices. Valentina Palladino And Jim Salter, Ars Technica, 20 Feb. 2020 Same with Thompson, who continues to increase his price with beastly performances and invaluable leadership. Chris Fedor, cleveland, 11 Jan. 2020 In this live-action re-imagining of the fairy tale, a young woman takes her father’s place as prisoner in a beast’s castle, only to fall in love with her beastly captor, who turns out to be a prince.Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2019 But Nadal’s triumph confirms his standing as one of the most beastly players in the history of men’s tennis. Kevin Craft, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2019 Lion country The Serengeti is one of the world’s greatest lion lairs, with around 2,800 beastly kings marauding about the 5,700-square-mile park.San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2019
Adverb
The capper on the drive was a beastly 64-yard touchdown run from junior Mason Tanoa. Josh Reed, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2022 Hey, maybe one day the comedian will decide to part with his gorgeous 1959 Chevrolet Corvette or his beastly 1970 Dodge Charger. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 14 June 2021 The beastly engine is paired with a seven-speed sequential gearbox featuring straight-cut gears and multiplate carbon-fiber clutch. Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 19 Aug. 2022 From Epson’s industry-benchmark Home Cinema line, this is a beastly machine, designed for and optimally suited for the pickiest cinephiles out there. Paul Schrodt, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Aug. 2022 Sightings of a furry, upright biped and reports of beastly footprints have been reported from as far afield as the Himalayas. Lauren Kent, Outside Online, 11 Aug. 2022 The movie is a beastly thing, and proud of it—a gaily sadistic kerfuffle, from which all traces of tenderness have been expunged. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2022 The beastly mill is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and can pump out up to 682 horses. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 19 July 2022 How could a guy who was so beastly to women be so talented in picking artful movies? Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2022 See More