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
More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
This savage, amoral and unfeeling Robin Hood has been written to invert everything modern fans like about him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Lately, I’ve come to prefer Jackman as a showman over a savage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
What the LP lacks in soul and intellect it makes up for in savage energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
On its release, BBC music correspondent Mark Savage described West End Girl as "a savage and startlingly detailed portrait of a marriage being torn apart".
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
This is a statement about the way humans can be so ruthless, so cunning, so savage that we’re no better than wild animals when you get down to it.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
At Tuesday’s Coastal Commission meeting, Jennifer Savage of the Surfrider Foundation stepped to the microphone and said to commissioners:
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Savage tells clients in a note that the telecommunications provider’s fiscal 2027 guidance is likely to be equally unremarkable relative to expectations, leaving its scope for buybacks as the key focus for investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Investor Russ Savage is putting properties across California, Colorado and Utah on the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
But despite the praise, Shinoda was clear a collaboration with Da Savage isn't on the cards - at least not yet.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Then, with a click the bathroom door opened and, very pale, the Savage emerged.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? What’s grown-ups going to think?” cries Piggy, the book’s preteen standard-bearer for logic and civilization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
"We're not savages, we're not animals, we're not aliens – we're humans," he added from the stage after his win for best musicá urbana album.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 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
When Dany climbed back into the palanquin beside him, he said, "Your savages are wiser than they know. Such truths as the Asshai'i hoard are not like to make you smile."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Though critics savaged the movie, opening night audiences gave it an average grade of A-, according to market research firm CinemaScore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
England were savaged back home following the defeat on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
During his early career, Shepard savaged Vietnam-era conservatism, preferring the hippie vibe of the Bay Area to what he called the “sprawling, demented snake of L.A. to the south.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2025
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 ● Nov. 7, 2024
In a matter of minutes, I would be left standing in the arena all alone, like that toothless bear waiting to be savaged by the dogs.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
Landau was aware of what constituted crowd appeal, but is too good-natured to savage many of the people along the way who perhaps deserve savaging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
It emphasized the long-standing national tradition of cartoons savaging public figures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
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
Art critics delighted in savaging her work, generally deeming it kitschy and oversentimental.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 29, 2022
Ralph blundered on, savaging himself, as the wisp of smoke moved on.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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.
