savage

adjective sav·age \ ˈsa-vij \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

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

Those old Western movies—which invented the white hat/black hat dynamic that Westworld borrows—were generally straightforward morality tales, with heroic do-gooders riding into dusty towns to scare off villainous outlaws or savage Indians.

— scott meslow, GQ, "Westworld Is for White People," 7 May 2018
Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird might just be the best trash talker in NBA history, and three-time NBA champion Kevin McHale was by Bird’s side for more than a decade to hear his most savage remarks to opponents on the floor.

— nick schwartz, For The Win, "Kevin McHale shares a classic Larry Bird trash talk story," 1 May 2018
Miami-Dade police and prosecutors believe Marin engineered the savage murder of his wife's secret lover in 2011, then fled to Europe, likely Spain.

— david ovalle, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Prominent grocery chain owner and MMA fighter among four charged in murder of wife's lover," 27 Apr. 2018
Miami-Dade police and prosecutors believe Marin engineered the savage murder of his wife's secret lover in 2011, then fled to Europe, likely Spain.

— david ovalle, miamiherald, "Miami grocery chain owner charged in murder of wife's lover, along with MMA fighters | Miami Herald," 27 Apr. 2018
Now a four-year-old savage meme king, Prince George is reportedly a little ball of energy (as most four-year-olds are, royalty aside).

— megan decker, Harper's BAZAAR, "Everything You Need To Know About Prince William and Kate Middleton's Children," 23 Apr. 2018
One year ago, Assad launched a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people.

— jen kirby, Vox, "Read Trump’s statement on Syria strike: ‘They are crimes of a monster’," 14 Apr. 2018
Six years ago Indians stood united against a savage crime.

— sadanand dhume, WSJ, "Hindu Extremists Shrug Off a Depraved Crime," 19 Apr. 2018
In Rampage, a rogue CRISPR experiment is responsible for turning a gorilla, a wolf, and a crocodile into huge, savage monsters.

— alessandra potenza, The Verge, "Rampage may stoke CRISPR fears, but scientists say it could be educational, too," 18 Apr. 2018

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

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First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

savage Synonyms

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

And with a twirl, a hair flip, and a kiss goodbye for good measure, the icon is out—looking savage.

— lauren valenti, Vogue, "Watch Rihanna’s Epic 10-Minute Guide to Going-Out Makeup," 3 May 2018
Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Max Beckmann angrily produced apocalyptic visions, and Dada was born as a savage, satirical, and subversive response to war’s chaos.

— cate mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Inventur’ looks at German art in the wake of WWII," 15 Mar. 2018
In 2009, following the example of Christopher McDougall and his barefoot-running manifesto, Born to Run, devotees were debating whether to purchase a pair of Vibram FiveFingers or just be a full-on savage and go au naturel from the ankles down.

— martin fritz huber, Outside Online, "Do New "Energy Return" Shoes Put Pep in Your Step?," 18 Apr. 2018
In the 1970s, people began to see what was there all the time, which is a savage, violent sexuality.

— National Geographic, "Where Did Picasso’s Genius Come From?," 14 Apr. 2018
Native people were presented in particularly unfriendly light, usually represented as shallow, animalistic savages whose presence in the plot served mainly to justify their own extinction.

— betsy golden kellem, Smithsonian, "The 19th-Century “Golden Hours” Convention Brought Young Readers Together to Meet Their Literary Heroes," 9 Mar. 2018
Does the government want to keep playing this game with these savages?

— bukola adebayo, CNN, "Nigerian army failed to act on warnings before schoolgirls abducted, Amnesty says," 20 Mar. 2018
At first glance, the Kanaljorden site might seem to represent the remains of a savage and violent event.

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "8,000-year-old heads on spikes found in Swedish lake," 22 Feb. 2018
Two years ago, a savage Aix Festival production placed the action in colonial East Africa in the 1930s.

— the new york times, New York Times, "22 Musicals, Plays, Concerts, Dances and Festivals You Can’t Miss This Spring," 20 Feb. 2018

First Known Use of savage

1578

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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savage Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Near Antonyms

angel, innocent, saint;

hero;

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;

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

Plus, the White House correspondents' dinner turns ugly as a cursing comedian savages the Trump team.

— Fox News, "Media declare Cabinet chaos," 30 Apr. 2018
Liberals say comedian Michelle Wolf spoke truth to power with her routine that savaged not only President Trump, but also key members of his administration who were there, like Sarah Sanders.

— doug criss, CNN, "5 things for April 30: Migrant caravan, T-Mobile and Sprint, Michelle Wolf," 30 Apr. 2018
The front-runners savaged one another, clearing the way for Davis to surge in the last weeks of the campaign, win the nomination and, ultimately, the governor's office.

— mark z. barabak, latimes.com, "Been ignoring the race for California governor? That's OK, in some ways it's just starting," 26 Apr. 2018
As a tornado savaged Greensboro, N.C., on Sunday night, one teen was too preoccupied with his Fortnite game to pay much attention to the encroaching storm.

— megan mccluskey, Time, "Gamer Teen Unfazed by Tornado That Blew Roof Off Neighbor's House," 17 Apr. 2018
Afghanistan’s new government faced the enormous task of rebuilding the educational system, which had been savaged by decades of civil war, followed by five years of a Taliban regime that closed schools and destroyed foreign-language books.

— rod nordland and fahim abed, New York Times, "Most Afghans Can’t Read, but Their Book Trade Is Booming," 3 Feb. 2018
Trump replied to Bannon’s comments with a statement savaging his former confidant.

— paul farhi, Washington Post, "Stephen K. Bannon leaves Breitbart after blowup over comments in Trump book," 9 Jan. 2018
Third party spending -- the vast majority of which was conservative groups savaging Murphy -- totaled more than $46 million.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "Why Rick Scott's Senate candidacy is very, very good news for Republicans," 9 Apr. 2018
But the third-party groups also ran TV and radio spots savaging McCain, and other foes deluged voters with anti-McCain messages ranging from the nasty to the outrageous.

— azcentral, "John McCain's 2000 presidential run saw challenges, 'ugly' politics," 2 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of savage

1880

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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savage Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Near Antonyms

acclaim, commend, compliment, hail, laud, praise;

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);

Phrases

beat up on, light into, sail into, tie into;

Savage

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

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.