as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
with animalistic fury the boxer tore into his opponent
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Recent Examples of animalistic
Dæmons seem to be an outward manifestation of the complex nature of humans that encompasses, male, female and animalistic characteristics that hint towards the breaking of gender binaries and the possibilities of interspecies relations.
—
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Scary Farm visitors will enter the maze as military recruits arriving at the secret lab to be transformed into animalistic super soldiers using one of three methods — surgery, chemical treatments or genetic mutations.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025
The key characters share in their alterity and summon the animalistic archetype of the stray, behaviorally and physiologically.
—Olivia Bennett, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
Scary Farm visitors will enter the maze as military recruits arriving at the secret lab to be transformed into animalistic super soldiers using one of three methods — surgery, chemical treatments or genetic mutations.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025
The key characters share in their alterity and summon the animalistic archetype of the stray, behaviorally and physiologically.
—Olivia Bennett, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animalistic
Adjective
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These experiments came after a deep-learning model sifted through possibilities to find high-probability candidates, a definitive transformation from brute-force searches typically favored in the past.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Oct. 2025
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But recent history suggests that its mission would have less to do with proffering aid than with complementing the Kremlin’s liberal use of brute force.—
Tetiana Kotelnykova,
The Atlantic,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Here's everything to know about the late female killer and her brutal crimes.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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The grisly events in El Fasher come over two and a half years into a brutal civil war that has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There are currently between 60 and 100 million stray and feral cats roaming the streets in the United States, and most shelters are constantly at full capacity.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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The Florida park is home to a healthy population of feral, non-native rhesus macaques.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Channels the inner, bestial urges to release an unworldly howl that pushes back any nearby enemies.—
Oliver Brandt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
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His nemesis in this series was a bestial Wakandan in a gorilla suit called Man-Ape.—
Ekow Eshun
July 11,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Animalistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalistic. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
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