ANIMALITY Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

animality

noun

ˌa-nə-ˈma-lə-tē

Definition of animality

as in brutality

the manifestation of the traits or the gratification of the appetites of a lower animal in his portrayal the actor emphasizes the working-class hunk's fundamental animality

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of animality In other words, humans can act against the animal component of their nature and manifest their humanity by rejecting their animality. — Literary Hub, 11 Nov. 2025 This strangeness causes all sorts of internal agitation, an uneasiness about humanity’s closeness to animality. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2025 But also, something more intrinsic — something like her animality. — Camille Bromley Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025 Kafka’s fiction is full of animals who resemble people and people who lapse into animality. — Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2023 The study ventures into the intricacies of scientific and quasi-scientific debates in the 19th century, and treats 19th century science as embedded in a myth featuring divinity, humanity and animality as principal characters. — Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2012

Recent Examples of Synonyms for animality

Noun

Notable releases include a novel about police brutality, the return of Barbara Kingsolver, 1980s fiction and a deep dive into the very real specter of artificial intelligence.

— Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 8 Oct. 2026
The government suspended the use of stun grenades after a 15-year-old boy's hand was blown off earlier in the week, fueling accusations of police brutality.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of brutality

Noun

Hope is something that Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri can related to, having explored the dualities of hope and despair (as well as lightness and darkness, and fluidity and animalism) in her spring 2023 collection.

— Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 22 Jan. 2025
But what Cameron represents to Harper is unfettered animalism, and that’s part of what’s missing in her relationship with Ethan.

— Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2022

Definition of animalism

Noun

Luhansk, this terra incognita of the independent Ukraine, is described in almost carnivalesque terms, but this is a carnival infused with absurdity and even cruelty.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Artistaya Arriyawongsa directed and co-wrote the film, which uses the supernatural to probe online cruelty and the public shaming it fuels.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruelty

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animalistic

animality

animalize

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“Animality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animality. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of animality

noun

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