beastly

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective very unpleasant
  2. adjective resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility
  3. adverb in a beastly manner

Etymology

From Middle English bestely, bestly, equivalent to beast + -ly. Compare West Frisian bistachtich (“beastly”), Dutch beestachtig (“beastly”), German biestig (“beastly”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

hellish, god-awful

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