fierce, ferocious, or cruel; untamed.
savage beasts.
Offensive. relating to or being a preliterate people or society regarded as uncivilized or primitive.
enraged or furiously angry, as a person.
unpolished; rude.
savage manners.
wild or rugged, as country or scenery.
savage wilderness.
Archaic. uncultivated; growing wild.
to assault and maul by biting, rending, goring, etc.; tear at or mutilate.
numerous sheep savaged by dogs.
to attack or criticize thoroughly or remorselessly; excoriate.
a play savaged by the critics.
to greatly weaken, damage, or harm.
The age of automation and globalization, with companies searching for lower wages overseas, has savaged organized labor.
Michael Joseph, 1872–1940, New Zealand statesman and labor leader: prime minister 1935–40.
Richard, 1697?–1743, English poet.
wild; untamed
savage beasts of the jungle
ferocious in temper; vicious
a savage dog
uncivilized; crude
savage behaviour
(of peoples) nonliterate or primitive
a savage tribe
(of terrain) rugged and uncultivated
obsolete far from human habitation
a member of a nonliterate society, esp one regarded as primitive
a crude or uncivilized person
a fierce or vicious person or animal
to criticize violently
to attack ferociously and wound
the dog savaged the child
See cruel.
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
A polar bear in a zoo might look like an adorable giant stuffed animal, but if you met a hungry one in its native environment, it would seem more savage — wild and fierce — than cute. Describing an animal as savage means that it is true to its wild, ferocious nature, but if you describe a person or the actions of a person as savage, it means "cruel" or "brutal." A place can also be described as savage if it's untamed, uninhabitable, and unwelcoming. When savage takes the form of a noun, it means "a brutal person," and when it's a verb it means "to attack ferociously." Any way you use it, savage is uncivilized and violent.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Early reviewers, writes Ms. Lutz, found the book “too gloomy, savage, and eccentric.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
And he won another Tony for his savage portrayal of Roy M. Cohn in the Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s two-part epic, “Angels in America.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
“The water comes out in very fast movements, with a high velocity, and it scrapes away all these materials” from the valley, said Sattar, creating a “hyper-concentrated” flood that is savage in its power.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
The lyrics to the haunting piece say: "How does it feel to be a savage and a beast?"
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026
Lord Asriel was a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark face, and eyes that seemed to flash and glitter with savage laughter.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
