Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility: Describes behavior, nature, or desires that are crude, savage, or lacking in human refinement.
   • Very unpleasant: Used informally to describe something extremely disagreeable, awful, or nasty.

2. Adverb:

   • In a beastly manner: To act in a cruel, rude, or unpleasant way (archaic or informal).
   • Very; extremely: Used as an intensifier, often informally, to mean "to a great degree."

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • He was criticized for his beastly behavior at the party. (Resembling a beast)
  • We had to cancel the picnic due to the beastly weather. (Very unpleasant)
  • The beastly treatment of the prisoners was condemned. (Showing lack of human sensibility)

• Adverb:

  • She complained that he had behaved beastly toward the guests. (In a beastly manner - informal/archaic)
  • It was beastly cold outside, so we stayed indoors. (Very; extremely - informal)

Advanced Usage

• "beastly to": To treat someone in a very cruel or unpleasant manner.

  • The older children were beastly to the new student.

• Used as an intensifier before adjectives, particularly in British informal English.

  • The traffic was beastly slow this morning.

Variants and Related Words

• Beast (n): An animal, especially a large or dangerous four-footed one; a cruel, brutish, or disgusting person.
• Bestial (adj): Of or like a beast; savagely cruel or depraved. (A more formal synonym for the first sense of 'beastly').

Synonyms

• Adjective (resembling a beast): Brutish, bestial, savage, animalistic.
• Adjective (very unpleasant): Awful, terrible, horrible, dreadful, vile.

Related Phrases

• A beastly shame: An informal expression for something considered a great pity or very unfortunate.
  • It's a beastly shame that the concert was canceled.

Notes on Usage

• The adverbial use meaning "in a beastly manner" is now considered old-fashioned or informal.
• The use of "beastly" as an intensifier (e.g., ) is chiefly British and informal.
• When describing weather, it almost always means "very unpleasant."

Adjective

1. resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
   • beastly desires
   • a bestial nature
   • brute force
   • a dull and brutish man
   • bestial treatment of prisoners
2. very unpleasant
   • hellish weather
   • stop that god-awful racket

Adverb

1. in a beastly manner
   • she behaved beastly toward her mother-in-law