feral

adjective

fe·​ral ˈfir-əl 

ˈfer-;

ˈfe-rəl 

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

Synonyms of feral

• wild
• wilding
• savage

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

Aren't there natural predators challenging feral hogs? —Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026

Henry and Tabitha were listening to a podcast about a plane crash in the Andes and the gruesome ways the survivors had clung to life in the feral winter hellscape. —Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026

Instead, Kahan occupies a funny spot in the pop-music cosmos—music for people who own too much performance fleece to embrace the bombast of Taylor Swift but aren’t quite feral enough for the cacophony of Geese. —Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

They got involved trapping the colony of feral cats living behind the strip mall the vet office was located in. —Amanda Rosa april 9, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026

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

Rhymes for feral

• beryl
• karel
• peril
• seral
• sterile
• sterol
• carbaryl
• glyceryl
• imperil
• cholesteryl
• sitosterol
• tocopherol

Kids Definition

feral

adjective

fe·​ral ˈfir-əl  ˈfer- 

: having escaped from domestication and become wild

feral cats