beast Meaning, Definition & Usage
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noun a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
animate being; brute; animal; fauna; creature.
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noun a cruelly rapacious person
savage; wolf; brute; wildcat.
WordNet
Beast noun
Etymology
OE.Definitions
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Any living creature; an animal; -- including man, insects, etc. Obs. Chaucer. -
Any four-footed animal, that may be used for labor, food, or sport; as, a .beast of burdenA righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. Prov. xii. 10.
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As opposed to man: Any irrational animal. -
Fig.: A coarse, brutal, filthy, or degraded fellow. -
A game at cards similar to loo. Obs. Wright. -
A penalty at beast, omber, etc. Hence: To be beasted, to be beaten at beast, omber, etc. Chaucer.Syn. -- Beast ,Brute .When we use these words in a figurative sense, as applicable to human beings, we think of beasts as mere animals governed by animal appetite; and of brutes as being destitute of reason or moral feeling, and governed by unrestrained passion. Hence we speak of beastly appetites; beastly indulgences, etc.; and of brutal manners; brutal inhumanity; brutal ferocity. So, also, we say of a drunkard, that he first made himself a beast, and then treated his family like a brute.