savage
adjective
fierce, ferocious, or cruel; untamed.
savage
1 American
[sav-ij]
/ ˈsæv ɪdʒ /
adjective
-
fierce, ferocious, or cruel; untamed.
savage beasts.
- Synonyms:
- bloodthirsty, fell, feral, wild
- Antonyms:
- mild
-
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.
- Antonyms:
- cultured
-
wild or rugged, as country or scenery.
savage wilderness.
- Synonyms:
- uncultivated, rough
- Antonyms:
- cultivated
-
Archaic. uncultivated; growing wild.
noun
-
savages
plural
verb (used with object)
-
savages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
savaged,
past participle, past
-
savaging
present participle
-
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.
Savage
2
American
[sav-ij]
/ ˈsæv ɪdʒ /
noun
-
Michael Joseph, 1872–1940, New Zealand statesman and labor leader: prime minister 1935–40.
-
Richard, 1697?–1743, English poet.
savage
1
British
/ ˈsævɪdʒ /
adjective
-
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
noun
-
a member of a nonliterate society, esp one regarded as primitive
-
a crude or uncivilized person
-
a fierce or vicious person or animal
verb
-
to criticize violently
-
to attack ferociously and wound
the dog savaged the child
Savage
2
British
/ ˈsævɪdʒ /
noun
Synonym Usage
See cruel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
savagedomnoun
-
savagenessnoun
-
unsavagenessnoun
-
half-savageadjective
-
presavageadjective
-
quasi-savageadjective
-
semisavageadjective
-
unsavageadjective
-
half-savagelyadverb
-
quasi-savagelyadverb
-
savagelyadverb
-
unsavagelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
savagesimple
-
savagessimple
-
have savagedperfect
-
has savagedperfect
-
am savagingprogressive
-
are savagingprogressive
-
is savagingprogressive
-
have been savagingperfect progressive
-
has been savagingperfect progressive
Past
-
savagedsimple
-
had savagedperfect
-
was savagingprogressive
-
were savagingprogressive
-
had been savagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of savage
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
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing savage
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"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Rivera’s play, which won an Obie Award, caught fire in its 1993 New York premiere at the Public Theater with its theatrical street sense, savage imagery and Puerto Rican-inflected magical realism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Its savage truth explains Black folks’ deep compassion for British scholar Jason Arday, and the widespread anger over concerted efforts to assassinate his character before he was found dead.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
Concluding the prosecution's case on Thursday, Connor said that, in a police interview, Fong told officers: "Cookie isn't the type of dog to savage anyone."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
But under million-dollar luxury apartments chilled by whirling air conditioners, tenants in one of Seoul's last shanty towns suffer headaches in the savage heat.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
But they were trained warriors, and a moment later their dæmons leapt at the angel, savage teeth flashing white in the gloom—and Balthamos flinched: he cried out in fear and shame, and shrank back.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Savage tells clients in a note that Life360 has set a low bar by flagging an 18% Ebitda margin, down from 20% a year earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Shares in Firmus should be expected to trade at a discount relative to those in CoreWeave, said Chris Savage, an analyst at Bell Potter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Savage is adamant about keeping security focused on serving trans patrons, describing the difficult experience of being harassed by security guards at other clubs if the gender on your ID doesn’t match how you present.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Macho Man” Randy Savage and his ex-wife/manager Miss Elizabeth both died before reaching Social Security eligibility.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Then, with a click the bathroom door opened and, very pale, the Savage emerged.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
In a 2017 speech, he savages Massachusetts v.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
"We're not savages, we're not animals, we're not aliens; we are humans and we are Americans," the singer said after being given the Grammy for Best Musica Urbana Album.
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
His uncompromising hostility toward revolutionaries inspired Thomas Paine to remark in 1776, “Even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make war upon their families.”
From National Geographic ● Jul. 3, 2023
"It's dangerous there, people have become savages and they hate each other. I tried to stay there so my kids could be close to their family, but I couldn't continue because nobody helped me."
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2023
As she’s all too fond of telling us, we are raising savages with all our new theories about talking, not spanking.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
During one of Musk’s visits in 2016, Brown watched in panic as Musk savaged a demonstration from a legendary researcher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Sartre’s disciples savaged him. But his moderation in this way required him to write as he did.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Or that in its wake, Ducks coach Dan Lanning had savaged him or his program multiple times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
England were savaged back home following the defeat on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
He was savaged by a boar whilst hunting in the kingswood .
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Social-media users are savaging promotions depicting unnaturally regular greens, shrimp like O-rings, unhealthily slick noodles and stippled chicken.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
This week, reality TV show star Spencer Pratt posted multiple videos on social media savaging a proposed state bill on wildfire rebuilding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2025
People would keep one eye on their bank accounts for missed deposits and the other on Wall Street, where concerns over the nation's creditworthiness could be savaging the value of people's life savings.
From Reuters ● May 23, 2023
But the show’s prolonged savaging by critics, who offended most of all by what they saw as Hirshfield’s crudeness and incompetence.
From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
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