feral

adjective

fe·​ral ˈfir-əl How to pronounce feral (audio)
ˈfer-;
ˈfe-rəl How to pronounce feral (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or suggestive of a wild beast
feral teeth
feral instincts
2
a
: not domesticated or cultivated : wild
feral animals
b
: having escaped from domestication and become wild
feral cats
feral noun
Choose the Right Synonym for feral

brutal, brutish, bestial, feral mean characteristic of an animal in nature, action, or instinct.

brutal applies to people, their acts, or their words and suggests a lack of intelligence, feeling, or humanity.

a senseless and brutal war

brutish stresses likeness to an animal in low intelligence, in base appetites, and in behavior based on instinct.

brutish stupidity

bestial suggests a state of degradation unworthy of humans and fit only for beasts.

bestial depravity

feral suggests the savagery or ferocity of wild animals.

the struggle to survive unleashed their feral impulses

Examples of feral in a Sentence

They led a feral existence. animal experts discourage homeowners from trying to adopt feral animals as pets
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There are somewhere between 60 million to 100 million feral cats in the United States, rivaling the number of cozy pets. Rebecca Van Laer september 30, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025 The roughly 5-month-old kitten got a fresh start after he and his littermates were found living in a colony of feral cats. Simone Jasper, Charlotte Observer, 25 Sep. 2025 Why does this guy — who seems nice enough and does have a generational voice but mostly just stood there and waved at phone cameras — have one of the biggest songs in the world and people going absolutely feral for him? Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 24 Sep. 2025 While not native to Florida, wild hogs, also called feral hogs, feral swine, feral pigs, wild boar, wild pigs or piney woods rooter, live in all 67 Florida counties, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC). Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for feral

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin feralis, from Latin fera wild animal, from feminine of ferus wild — more at fierce

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of feral was in 1604

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Feral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feral. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

feral

adjective
fe·​ral ˈfir-əl How to pronounce feral (audio) ˈfer- How to pronounce feral (audio)
: having escaped from domestication and become wild
feral cats

More from Merriam-Webster on feral

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