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Definition of savage
1a : not domesticated or under human control : untamed savage beastsb : 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
3a : boorish, rude the savage bad manners of most motorists — M. P. O'Connorb : malicious
4 : lacking complex or advanced culture : uncivilized a savage country
savagely
adverbsavageness
nounPeople Are Reading
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
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While trying to navigate the unforgiving landscape, Arlen is captured by a savage band of cannibals led by the mysterious Miami Man.
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What kind of sadistic person would subject an audience to such savage sonic punishment?
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Using an appealing cast of small-town characters whose lives were suddenly upended, the show mixed grief memoir and savage comedy with speculation about how a civilization ill at ease with mystery might deal with the truly unfathomable.
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For some it’s Rouben Mamoulian’s 1932 adaptation, which won an Oscar for Fredric March’s savage interpretation.
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Perhaps Clinton's most fresh and savage criticism on Wednesday was directed at the Democratic National Committee.
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Nikki picks herself up relatively easily, considering how savage the beating sounded.
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The New York Observer — Jared Kushner’s newspaper — published a memorably savage hit piece.
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Wendy’s sassy social media account often draws attention for its witty replies to users and savage digs at competitors like McDonald’s, but this stunt galvanized Twitter on a mass scale: 3.4 million retweets and counting.
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
Synonym Discussion of savage
savage
Definition of savage
1 : a person belonging to a primitive society
2 : a brutal person
3 : a rude or unmannerly person
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
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Savage puts forth dozens of other anecdotes, insights and opinions that fans are sure to eat up regarding Alabama football and Saban's success in Tuscaloosa over the last decade.
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While far too much of the film is staged discussion and smug political jousting, there is savage and lethal black irony.
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Savage declined our request to provide details to substantiate his claim.
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First was the March 3, 1991, traffic stop and savage beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, followed days later by the fatal shooting of high school student Latasha Harlins by Korean shop owner Soon Ja Du.
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The superb chorus Schola Cantorum Reykjavík prefaced the orchestral concerts with a selection of a-cappella pieces, including Leifs’s Requiem, which is as spare and sad as the Organ Concerto is savage.
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Savage and his lawyer issued statements alleging that Rosekrans pushed his poodle out of the way and then pushed Savage to the ground, according to the Bay Area News Gorup.
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For centuries, Native Americans have been seen through one or another distorting lens of the Anglo-American imagination: as archetypal savages, as the hapless victims of the white man’s barbarism, as avatars of ecological rectitude.
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Marauding savages and talking about lynching black people?
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.
First Known Use of savage
1578
Other Anthropology Terms
savage
Definition of savage
savaged
;savaging
transitive verb
: to attack or treat brutally
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.
First Known Use of savage
1880
Savage
playDefinition of Savage
Michael Joseph 1872–1940 prime minister of New Zealand (1935–40)
SAVAGE Defined for English Language Learners
savage
Definition of savage for English Language Learners
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: to attack or treat (someone or something) in a very cruel, violent, or harsh way
SAVAGE Defined for Kids
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.
Definition of savage for Students
1 : a person belonging to a group with a low level of civilization
2 : a cruel or violent person
Learn More about savage
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See words that rhyme with savage Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for savage Spanish Central: Translation of savage Nglish: Translation of savage for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of savage for Arabic speakers
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