savage

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adjective sav·age \ ˈsa-vij \

Definition of savage

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 :lacking complex or advanced culture :uncivilized

a savage country

—

savagely

adverb

—

savageness

noun

See savage defined for English-language learners

See savage defined for kids

Examples of savage in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of savage from the Web

The burly Beavers coach is gearing up for a home season opener Saturday against a program nowhere near used to these savage conditions.

— joe davidson, sacbee, "Sacramento-area JC football programs a haven for the overlooked and motivated," 28 Aug. 2017
This is also why Breitbart acts as a savage critic of Republicans like Paul Ryan who do not fall in line with its agenda.

— rosie gray, The Atlantic, "What Steve Bannon's Return Means for Breitbart," 28 Aug. 2017
Ingrid Goes West is one of those indie flicks that flies just beneath the radar, the subjects of its savage satire just a little too obscure for the usual comedy treatment.

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "Ingrid Goes West revels in everything wrong with Instagram celebrities," 27 Aug. 2017
There's much ado about mom-shaming these days, but the most savage form of it may be more subtle than a troll or a crazy commenter.

— michelle ruiz, SELF, "In Praise of the Moms Who Don’t Pretend Their Lives Are Perfect on Instagram," 24 Aug. 2017
What happened to our politics and our humanity that allows us to treat people fleeing a savage war as less than human?

— annie leibovitz, The Hive, "The Desperate Struggle for Home at the U.N.’s Largest Syrian Refugee Camp," 17 Aug. 2017
What happened to our politics and our humanity that allows us to treat people fleeing a savage war as less than human?

— christiane amanpour, vanityfair.com, "The Desperate Struggle for Home at the U.N.’s Largest Syrian Refugee Camp," 9 Aug. 2017
On its face, Trump’s White House is battling three savage wars: against our international foes, against the media and the opposition, and with itself.

— tiana lowe, National Review, "In Trump’s Turbulent White House, Women Skirt the Drama," 7 Aug. 2017
This savage comedy centers on her attempt to put in a two-week notice.

— sarah pfledderer, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "Curtain calls: August performing arts performances," 27 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'savage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of savage

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

savage Synonyms

Synonyms

barbarian, barbaric, barbarous, heathen, heathenish, natural, Neanderthal (or Neandertal), rude, uncivil, uncivilized, uncultivated, wild

Antonyms

civilized

Related Words

coarse, crude, primitive, rough; uncouth, uncultured

Near Antonyms

cultured, enlightened, humane, sophisticated; genteel, polished, polite, refined, urbane, well-bred; semicivilized

Synonym Discussion of 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

savage

noun

Definition of savage

1 :a person belonging to a primitive society

2 :a brutal person

3 :a rude or unmannerly person

See savage defined for English-language learners

Examples of savage in a Sentence

What kind of savage could have committed such a terrible crime?
what kind of savage would hurt a baby?

Recent Examples of savage from the Web

America looked at them as a bigamist, slave-holding society, as savages.

— randy dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, "The real story behind Trump's Pershing tweet: how General Pershing handled Muslim insurgents," 26 Aug. 2017
But her infamous callout on The Ellen DeGeneres Show was more savage than the song itself.

— kayleigh roberts, Marie Claire, "Ranking Taylor Swift's Most Savage Songs of All Time," 25 Aug. 2017
Both Dany and Jon fell for people that the Westerosi might think of as savages.

— eliana dockterman, Time, "10 Reasons Jon Snow and Daenerys Might End Up Together on Game of Thrones Even Though It’s Kind of Weird," 1 Aug. 2017
Caesar spares the lives of the few survivors to send a message back to their leader that the apes are not savages and just want to live in peace separately from the humans.

— lindsey bahr, idahostatesman, "A thrilling epic in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’," 13 July 2017
Caesar spares the lives of the few survivors to send a message back to their leader that the apes are not savages and just want to live in peace separately from the humans.

— lindsey bahr, idahostatesman, "A thrilling epic in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’," 13 July 2017
Caesar spares the lives of the few survivors to send a message back to their leader that the apes are not savages and just want to live in peace separately from the humans.

— lindsey bahr, idahostatesman, "A thrilling epic in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’," 13 July 2017
Caesar spares the lives of the few survivors to send a message back to their leader that the apes are not savages and just want to live in peace separately from the humans.

— lindsey bahr, idahostatesman, "A thrilling epic in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’," 13 July 2017
Caesar spares the lives of the few survivors to send a message back to their leader that the apes are not savages and just want to live in peace separately from the humans.

— lindsey bahr, Detroit Free Press, "Review: Latest ‘Apes’ tale is a great time at the movies," 12 July 2017

First Known Use of savage

1578

savage Synonyms

Synonyms

baddie (or baddy), beast, brute, caitiff, devil, evildoer, fiend, heavy, hound, knave, meanie (also meany), miscreant, monster, nazi, no-good, rapscallion, rascal, reprobate, rogue, villain, scalawag (or scallywag), scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, varlet, wretch

Related Words

villainess; blackguard; criminal, crook, culprit, felon, lawbreaker, malefactor, offender, perp, perpetrator, transgressor; sinner, trespasser, wrongdoer; cad, heel, serpent, snake, viper; bandit, bravo, desperado, outlaw; con, convict, jailbird; assassin, cutthroat, gangster, goon, gunman, hoodlum, hooligan, racketeer, ruffian, thug; rough, rowdy, tough; loser, lowlife, ne'er-do-well, stinker, trash

Near Antonyms

angel, innocent, saint; hero

Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt

savage

verb

Definition of savage

savaged; savaging

transitive verb

:to attack or treat brutally

See savage defined for English-language learners

Examples of savage in a Sentence

He looked like he'd been savaged by a wild animal.
A hurricane savaged the city.
The newspapers savaged his reputation.

Recent Examples of savage from the Web

The story comes from the brief time the show was set in Los Angeles while Lively was filming Oliver Stone’s Savages and asked for Gossip Girl to move base from New York in order to film both.

— ale russian, PEOPLE.com, "Blake Lively Had an Unexpected Way of Communicating with Leonardo DiCaprio When They Were Dating," 30 Aug. 2017
Since Sunday, a 25-year-old Portland poet has been savaged online for his typewritten poetry, often Instagrammed with cigarettes, as an archetypical entitled white male poet.

— lizzy acker, OregonLive.com, "Portland man’s cigarette-themed poetry goes viral for the wrong reasons," 29 Aug. 2017
At least in Australia, because a teen Down Under just had his legs savaged by what experts believe (but are by no means sure) are FLESH-EATING SEA LICE.

— leanna commins, Cosmopolitan, "GREAT NEWS: Carnivorous "Sea Lice" Are a Thing Now, And They Will Eat You," 7 Aug. 2017
Seated across from Trump was Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has stayed on the job while Trump has publicly savaged him in interviews and on social media.

— carol robinson, AL.com, "Peanut butter used to trick young jailer in Walker County escape; 1 of 12 still at large," 31 July 2017
This is the same media that has relentlessly and viciously savaged Trump over his hair, his hands and other aspects of his personal appearance for the best part of the last two years.

— william cummings, USA TODAY, "The Bubble: Trump's Mika tweets are distracting from health care and Russia," 29 June 2017
Similarly, the sensation of being overwhelmed and savaged by endlessly spawning monsters is right out of the video game, as is the relief of grabbing a medpac and the fact that marines respawn at teleporters upon death.

— tom mendelsohn, Ars Technica, "Knee-deep in the dead: Doom the board game reviewed," 10 June 2017
But both also got weighed down by their stars, pulling in so-so receptions from audiences (and getting savaged by critics).

— angela watercutter, WIRED, "Wonder Woman Proves Wonderful Superhero Movies Don’t Need Superstars," 2 June 2017
The bill, which savages Medicaid funding and undermines protections for preexisting conditions, is unlikely to prove popular with their constituents who show up.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "Hero Congressman Storms Out of an Interview in a Room Full of Kids," 9 May 2017

First Known Use of savage

1880

savage Synonyms

Synonyms

abuse, assail, bash, belabor, blast, castigate, excoriate, jump (on), lambaste (or lambast), potshot, attack, scathe, slam, trash, vituperate

Related Words

berate, harangue, harass, harry, revile, scold, whip; blaspheme, curse, execrate, imprecate, profane; affront, insult, slur; asperse, bad-mouth, belittle, blackguard, disparage, put down; libel, slander, traduce, vilify; chastise, chide, criticize, lace (into), rebuke, reprimand, reproof; fulminate, lash (out)

Near Antonyms

acclaim, commend, compliment, hail, laud, praise

Savage

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biographical name Sav·age \ ˈsa-vij \

Definition of Savage

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

SAVAGE Defined for English Language Learners

savage

verb

Definition of savage for English Language Learners

: to attack or treat (someone or something) in a very cruel, violent, or harsh way

SAVAGE Defined for Kids

savage

play

adjective sav·age \ ˈsa-vij \

Definition of savage for Students

1 :not tamed :wild

savage beasts

2 :being cruel and brutal :fierce

a savage attack

—

savagely

adverb

They fought savagely.

History for savage

In Latin the adjective silvaticus, (derived from the noun silva, “forest”) meant “growing or living in the forest.” Because forest life is wild rather than domesticated, the adjective easily took on the meaning “wild” in later Latin. Altered to salvaticus, the word passed into Old French as sauvage. When it was borrowed into Middle English, it kept the meanings “wild, uncultivated (of fruit)” and “untamed (of animals).” But sauvage could also be applied to humans, in which case its meanings could range from “not civilized, barbarous” to “fierce, cruel.” It is mainly the last sense that modern English savage brings to mind.

savage

noun

Definition of savage for Students

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

2 :a cruel or violent person

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savage

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savage

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