beast

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beast

(bēst)

1. An animal other than a human, especially a large four-footed mammal.

2. Animal nature as opposed to intellect or spirit: an insult that brought out the beast in him.

3. A very large or powerful person or thing: drives a beast of a truck.

4. Something of a specified kind: Her latest film is an odd beast.

5. A brutal, contemptible person.

[Middle English beste, from Old French, from Latin bēstia.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

beast

(biːst)

1. any animal other than man, esp a large wild quadruped

2. savage nature or characteristics: the beast in man.

3. a brutal, uncivilized, or filthy person

(Military) (tr) military slang chiefly Brit to punish or torture (someone) in a manner that involves excessive physical exercise

[C13: from Old French beste, from Latin bestia, of obscure origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

beast

(bist)

n.

1. any nonhuman animal, esp. a large, four-footed mammal.

2. the crude animal nature common to humans and other animals.

3. a cruel, coarse, or filthy person.

4. any animal, as distinguished from a plant.

[1175–1225; Middle English < Old French beste < Latin bēstia]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	beast - a living organism characterized by voluntary movement animal, animate being, creature, fauna, brute organism, being - a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently ritual killing, sacrifice - the act of killing (an animal or person) in order to propitiate a deity tracking, trailing - the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind animal kingdom, Animalia, kingdom Animalia - taxonomic kingdom comprising all living or extinct animals pest - any unwanted and destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock etc.; "he sprayed the garden to get rid of pests"; "many pests have developed resistance to the common pesticides" critter - a regional term for `creature' (especially for domestic animals) creepy-crawly - an animal that creeps or crawls (such as worms or spiders or insects) darter - a person or other animal that moves abruptly and rapidly; "squirrels are darters" peeper - an animal that makes short high-pitched sounds homeotherm, homoiotherm, homotherm - an animal that has a body temperature that is relatively constant and independent of the environmental temperature ectotherm, poikilotherm - an animal whose body temperature varies with the temperature of its surroundings; any animal except birds and mammals range animal - any animal that lives and grazes in the grassy open land of western North America (especially horses, cattle, sheep) varment, varmint - any usually predatory wild animal considered undesirable; e.g., coyote scavenger - any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying organic matter work animal - an animal trained for and used for heavy labor domestic animal, domesticated animal - any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment feeder - an animal that feeds on a particular source of food; "a bark feeder"; "a mud feeder" migrator - an animal (especially birds and fish) that travels between different habitats at particular times of the year molter, moulter - an animal (especially birds and arthropods and reptiles) that periodically shed their outer layer (feathers or cuticle or skin or hair) pet - a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement stayer - a person or other animal having powers of endurance or perseverance; "the horse that won the race is a good stayer" stunt - a creature (especially a whale) that has been prevented from attaining full growth marine animal, marine creature, sea animal, sea creature - any of numerous animals inhabiting the sea including e.g. fishes and molluscs and many mammals female - an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa) male - an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova) adult - any mature animal young, offspring - any immature animal pureblood, purebred, thoroughbred - a pedigreed animal of unmixed lineage; used especially of horses giant - any creature of exceptional size survivor - an animal that survives in spite of adversity; "only the fittest animals were survivors of the cold winters" mutant - an animal that has undergone mutation herbivore - any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants; "horses are herbivores"; "the sauropod dinosaurs were apparently herbivores" insectivore - any organism that feeds mainly on insects acrodont - an animal having teeth consolidated with the summit of the alveolar ridge without sockets pleurodont - an animal having teeth fused with the inner surface of the alveolar ridge without sockets microorganism, micro-organism - any organism of microscopic size actinomycete - any bacteria (some of which are pathogenic for humans and animals) belonging to the order Actinomycetales zooplankton - animal constituent of plankton; mainly small crustaceans and fish larvae conceptus, fertilized egg, embryo - an animal organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation that in higher forms merge into fetal stages but in lower forms terminate in commencement of larval life chordate - any animal of the phylum Chordata having a notochord or spinal column invertebrate - any animal lacking a backbone or notochord; the term is not used as a scientific classification metazoan - any animal of the subkingdom Metazoa; all animals except protozoans and sponges omnivore - an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances predatory animal, predator - any animal that lives by preying on other animals prey, quarry - animal hunted or caught for food game - animal hunted for food or sport
	2.	beast - a cruelly rapacious person brute, savage, wildcat, wolf aggressor, assailant, assaulter, attacker - someone who attacks

beast

noun

1. animal, creature, brute the threats our ancestors faced from wild beasts

2. brute, monster, savage, barbarian, fiend, swine, ogre, ghoul, sadist a sex beast who subjected two sisters to a terrifying ordeal

Quotations
"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,"
"Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" [W.B. Yeats The Second Coming]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

beast

noun

A perversely bad, cruel, or wicked person:

archfiend, devil, fiend, ghoul, monster, ogre, tiger, vampire.

Translations

إنْسانٌ كالوَحْشحَيَوان، وَحْشفَظ، جِلْف، قَذِر

zvířebestieprotivasurovec

bæstdyrudyr

Tier Bestie Biest Vieh Aas

κτήνος χτήνος θεριό θηρίο

bestia bruto descortés rudo animal

hirviöpeto

bête brute animal

kellemetlen embervadállat

dÿr, skepnaóòokkiskepna, kvikindi, óòokki

bestia belva

bjaurusgalvijasgyvuliškasgyvuliškumasnegražus

dzīvniekslopstiepšazvērs

животное зверь монстр чудовище

beštia

zverzverina

best

hayvanhayvanın tekikaba/iğrenç adam

令人讨厌的人四足兽野蛮的人

beast

[biːst] N

1. (= animal) → bestia f
beast of burden → bestia f de carga
the king of the beasts → el rey de los animales
the Beast (Rel) → la Bestia
the mark of the Beast (Rel) → la marca de la Bestia
see also wild D

2. (= person) → bestia mf
that beast of a policeman → aquel bestia de policía
what a beast he is! → ¡qué bruto or bestia es!
you beast! → ¡animal!

3. (= thing) it's a beast of a day → es un día horrible
it's a beast of a job → es un trabajo de chinos
a good thriller is a rare beast indeed → escasean las buenas novelas/películas de suspense
this is quite a different beast → esto ya es otra cosa

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

beast

[ˈbiːst] n

(= animal) → bête f

(= person) he's a beast → c'est une brute
He's a selfish little beast!
BUT Quel petit égoïste, celui-là!.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

beast

→ Tier nt

(inf: = person) → Biest nt, → Ekel nt; don’t be a beast! → sei nicht so eklig! (inf); that beast of a brother-in-law → dieser fiese Schwager (inf); this (problem) is a beast, it’s a beast (of a problem) → das (Problem) hats in sich (inf); a good thriller is a rare beast indeed → ein guter Krimi ist wirklich eine Seltenheit; TV films are a different beast (from movies) → Fernsehfilme sind etwas ganz anderes (als Kinofilme)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

beast

[biːst] n (animal) (fam) (disagreeable person) → bestia, animale m; (cruel person) → bruto
beast of burden → bestia da soma
it's a beast of a job (fam) → è un lavoraccio

beast

(biːst)

1. a four-footed (especially large) animal. beasts of the jungle.

2. a cruel, brutal person.

3. an unpleasant person. Arthur is a beast for refusing to come!

ˈbeastly adjective

1. like a beast.

2. disagreeable. What a beastly thing to do!

ˈbeastliness noun

References in classic literature ?

Surely no wild beast could wish a pleasanter home."

View in context

He sniffed at his fingers, as a wild beast might sniff at the life-blood upon a wounded paw.

View in context

The choice morsel had been judiciously separated from the adjoining and less worthy parts of the beast, and, enveloped in the hairy coating provided by nature, it had duly undergone the heat of the customary subterraneous oven, and was now laid before its proprietors in all the culinary glory of the prairies.

View in context

I talked with Montgomery to clear my ideas of the way in which the Beast Folk lived.

View in context

The ape-man fastened his fingers upon the throat of one of the hyenas and rose to one knee, though the other beast tore at him frantically in an effort to pull him down.

View in context

Paulvitch saw no menace in the inquiring gaze, or in the attitude of the beast. He got slowly to his feet.

View in context

I haf seen dot beast throw himself back in his chair and laugh when Bertran haf made fun of me.

View in context

Clayton heard the great body paralleling his course, and now there rose upon the evening air the beast's thunderous roar.

View in context

When Juag saw me fondling the great beast he was filled with consternation, but I did not have much time to spare to Raja while my mind was filled with the grief of my new loss.

View in context

"The father was a beast, but the son shall be a man--he shall take the next ascending step in the scale of progress.

View in context

The foremost beast broke into a slow trot, and at his heels came the others.

View in context

If he could reach the bottom and cover half the distance to the tree that stood in the center of the gulch he would feel comparatively safe for then, even if Numa appeared, he felt that he could beat him either to the cliff or to the tree, but to scale the first thirty feet of the cliff rapidly enough to elude the leaping beast would require a running start of at least twenty feet as there were no very good hand- or footholds close to the bottom--he had had to run up the first twenty feet like a squirrel running up a tree that other time he had beaten an infuriated Numa to it.