savage

1 of 3

adjective

sav·​age ˈsa-vij 

1

a

: not domesticated or under human control : untamed

savage beasts

b

: lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings : fierce, ferocious

a savage criminal

2

: wild, uncultivated

seldom have I seen such savage scenery

—Douglas Carruthers

3

a

: boorish, rude

the savage bad manners of most motorists

—M. P. O'Connor

b

: malicious

4

old-fashioned + offensive : lacking complex or advanced culture : uncivilized

savagely adverb

savageness noun

savage

2 of 3

noun

plural savages

1

old-fashioned + offensive : a person belonging to a primitive society

2

: a brutal person

3

: a rude or unmannerly person

savage

3 of 3

verb

savaged; savaging

transitive verb

: to attack or treat brutally

Synonyms

Adjective

• barbarian
• rude
• wild
• primitive

Noun

• brute
• villain
• monster
• beast
• criminal
• devil

Verb

• attack
• slam

Choose the Right Synonym for savage

fierce, ferocious, barbarous, savage, cruel mean showing fury or malignity in looks or actions.

fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack.

fierce warriors

ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.

a ferocious dog

barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people.

barbarous treatment of prisoners

savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion.

a savage criminal

cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it.

the cruel jokes of schoolboys

Examples of savage in a Sentence

Adjective

He was the victim of a savage attack.

The coast was lashed by savage storms.

He wrote savage satires about people he didn't like.

Noun

What kind of savage could have committed such a terrible crime?

what kind of savage would hurt a baby?

Verb

He looked like he'd been savaged by a wild animal.

A hurricane savaged the city.

The newspapers savaged his reputation.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The twisted filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos has by now trained us to expect darkly comic visions of contemporary life, both savage and mundane. —Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025

Rader’s double life as a doting father and savage murderer is the subject of the new Netflix documentary My Father, the BTK Killer, based on his daughter Kerri Rawson’s search to make sense of the secret double life her father hid from his family. —Johnny Dodd, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025

Noun

And that friction — between soft and savage — is what keeps us going. —Alma Rota, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025

Tenacious and savage Scrappy Rex is extremely formidable and robust with energy. —Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025

Verb

My grandfather used to use a wooden walking stick and beat back the nettles—just savage them. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025

Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which savaged New Orleans and much of the Gulf region, led to a push to better understand how and why these storms occur, and what agencies could do to better prepare. —Alana Wise, NPR, 28 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French salvage, savage, from Late Latin salvaticus, alteration of Latin silvaticus of the woods, wild, from silva wood, forest

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1880, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing savage

• noble savage

Rhymes for savage

• gavage
• lavage
• ravage

Kids Definition

savage

1 of 2 adjective

sav·​age ˈsav-ij 

1

: not tamed

savage beasts

2

: very cruel and unrestrained

a savage beating

3

: not cultivated : wild

the savage wilderness

4

offensive : not civilized

savage customs

5

: very critical or harsh

savagely adverb

savageness noun

savage

2 of 2 noun

1

offensive : a person belonging to a group with a low level of civilization

2

: a brutal person

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English savage "untamed, wild," from early French salvage, savage, (same meaning), from Latin salvaticus, an altered form of earlier silvaticus "of the woods, wild," from silva "woods, forest"

Word Origin

In Latin the adjective silvaticus, a derivative of silva, "forest," meant "growing or living in the forest." Because forest life is wild, the adjective easily acquired the meaning "wild, uncultivated" in later Latin as well as in the spoken Latin of the declining Roman Empire. Medieval French inherited silvaticus, altered to salvaticus, as salvage or sauvage, which was borrowed into Middle English. Medieval French sauvage retained the source meanings "wild, uncultivated (of fruit)" and "untamed (of animals)." But it could also be applied to humans, in which case its meanings could range from "lacking civilization, barbarous" to "fierce, cruel." English savage has had all these senses at some point in its history.

Biographical Definition

Savage

biographical name

Sav·​age ˈsa-vij 

Michael Joseph 1872–1940 prime minister of New Zealand (1935–40)