The brute is the animal viewed as dull to all finer feeling; the beast is looked upon as a being of appetites. To call a man a brute is to imply that he is unfeeling and cruel; to call him a beast is to indicate that he is vilely sensual.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

wolf I think this bishop is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
fiend As he stood there he might have been a fiend.
animal An animal can be much more dangerous when wounded.
creature I respect the praying mantis as a living creature!
monster One who is blinded by love admires even a monster.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
beast		rising
wolf		rising
fiend		rising
animal		steady
creature		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: wolf¹
5 letters: fauna², brute¹, fiend¹
6 letters: animal³, savage²
7 letters: monster²
8 letters: creature², wildling
9 letters: quadruped

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (fauna² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: bête
Italiano: animale
Español: animal
Deutsch: Tier
Català: bèstia