Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: Latin bestialis, from bestia 'beast'

bestial

 adjective
     
bes‧ti‧al literary
behaving like an animal, especially in a cruel way:
bestial and barbaric acts
—bestially adverb
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary