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Definitions for: Beast
[n] a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
[n] a cruelly rapacious person
Webster (1913) Definition: Beast, n. [OE. best, beste, OF. beste, F. b[^e]te, fr.
L. bestia.]
1. Any living creature; an animal; -- including man, insects,
etc. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
2. Any four-footed animal, that may be used for labor, food,
or sport; as, a beast of burden.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.
--Prov. xii.
10.
3. As opposed to man: Any irrational animal.
4. Fig.: A coarse, brutal, filthy, or degraded fellow.
5. A game at cards similar to loo. [Obs.] --Wright.
6. A penalty at beast, omber, etc. Hence: To be beasted, to
be beaten at beast, omber, etc.
Beast royal, the lion. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Syn: Beast, Brute.
Usage: 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.
Synonyms: animal, animate being, brute, brute, creature, fauna, savage, wildcat, wolf
See Also: acrodont, adult, aggressor, animal kingdom, animal tissue, Animalia, assailant, assaulter, attacker, being, biped, captive, caput, chordate, conceptus, creepy-crawly, critter, darter, dead animal, domestic animal, embryo, face, female, fertilized egg, fictional animal, game, giant, head, herbivore, insectivore, invertebrate, kingdom Animalia, larva, male, marine animal, mate, metazoan, migrator, molter, moulter, mutant, offspring, omnivore, organism, peeper, pet, pleurodont, predator, predatory animal, prey, pureblood, purebred, quarry, racer, scavenger, sea animal, stayer, stunt, survivor, thoroughbred, varment, varmint, vermin, work animal, young, zooplankton
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