savage

¹

[ sav-ij ]

adjective

1. fierce, ferocious, or cruel; untamed:

   savage beasts.

   Synonyms: bloodthirsty, fell, feral, wild

   Antonyms: mild

2. Offensive. relating to or being a preliterate people or society regarded as uncivilized or primitive.
3. enraged or furiously angry, as a person.
4. unpolished; rude:

   savage manners.

   Antonyms: cultured

5. wild or rugged, as country or scenery:

   savage wilderness.

   Synonyms: uncultivated, rough

   Antonyms: cultivated

6. Archaic. uncultivated; growing wild.

noun

1. a fierce, brutal, or cruel person.
2. a rude, boorish person.

   Synonyms: oaf, churl

3. Disparaging and Offensive. a member of a preliterate people or society regarded as uncivilized or primitive.

verb (used with object)

, sav·aged, sav·ag·ing.

1. to assault and maul by biting, rending, goring, etc.; tear at or mutilate:

   numerous sheep savaged by dogs.

2. to attack or criticize thoroughly or remorselessly; excoriate:

   a play savaged by the critics.

3. to greatly weaken, damage, or harm:

   The age of automation and globalization, with companies searching for lower wages overseas, has savaged organized labor.

Savage

²

[ sav-ij ]

noun

1. Michael Joseph, 1872–1940, New Zealand statesman and labor leader: prime minister 1935–40.
2. Richard, 1697?–1743, English poet.

savage

¹

/ ˈsævɪdʒ /

adjective

1. wild; untamed

   savage beasts of the jungle

2. ferocious in temper; vicious

   a savage dog

3. uncivilized; crude

   savage behaviour

4. (of peoples) nonliterate or primitive

   a savage tribe

5. (of terrain) rugged and uncultivated
6. obsolete.
   far from human habitation

noun

1. a member of a nonliterate society, esp one regarded as primitive
2. a crude or uncivilized person
3. a fierce or vicious person or animal

verb

1. to criticize violently
2. to attack ferociously and wound

   the dog savaged the child

Savage

²

/ ˈsævɪdʒ /

noun

1. SavageMichael Joseph18721940MNew ZealandPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: prime minister Michael Joseph. 1872-1940, New Zealand statesman; prime minister of New Zealand (1935-40)

Derived Forms

• ˈsavageness, noun
• ˈsavagedom, noun
• ˈsavagely, adverb

Other Words From

• sav·age·ly adverb
• sav·age·ness noun
• half-sav·age adjective
• half-sav·age·ly adverb
• pre·sav·age adjective
• qua·si-sav·age adjective
• qua·si-sav·age·ly adverb
• sem·i·sav·age adjective
• un·sav·age adjective
• un·sav·age·ly adverb
• un·sav·age·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of savage¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English adjective savage, saveage, sauvage, salvage, from Old French sauvage, salvage, savage, Anglo-French sawage, from Medieval Latin salvāticus, for Latin silvāticus, equivalent to silv(a) “woods” + -āticus adjective suffix; noun derivative of the adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of savage¹

C13: from Old French sauvage, from Latin silvāticus belonging to a wood, from silva a wood

Synonym Study

See cruel.

Example Sentences

She had been murdered three months after giving birth, the victim of a savage knife attack.

From BBC

Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate a part of California that has been savaged by wildfire for a second day running.

From BBC

No to the candidate who calls immigrants savages and animals.

From Los Angeles Times

So do savage Republican cuts in programs for minimal health care, nutrition and other vital aspects of a frayed social safety net.

From Salon

Of course, this is a very old narrative that goes back to the early days of colonial America, when white male European settlers were the protectors of white womanhood against the dangerous Native American “savages.”

From Salon

Related Words

• atrocious
• barbarous
• bloody
• brutal
• cold-blooded
• destructive
• ferocious
• fierce
• harsh
• inhuman
• inhumane
• merciless
• murderous
• relentless
• ruthless
• sadistic
• unrelenting
• violent