savage

adjective sav·age \ ˈsa-vij \

Updated on: 15 Apr 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

There is no sympathy for the savage Syrian regime established by Hafez al-Assad in 1970, and ruled by his son, Bashar, since 2000, but there is context.

— christopher dickey, New York Times, "War Without End," 6 Apr. 2018
So geographers in Afric-maps / With savage-pictures fill their gaps.

— a. roger ekirch, WSJ, "‘The Phantom Atlas’ Review: Maps With Gaps," 5 Apr. 2018
Her latest exhibition at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects is equal parts lament, lampoon and savage reckoning.

— sharon mizota, latimes.com, "In Nicole Eisenman's paintings, a must-see mirror to America's political moment," 2 Apr. 2018
In her telling, the Medici history is populated not by high-minded art patrons but by drunken sots and savage adventurers, essentially a crime syndicate, intent on amassing wealth and power without limit and without scruple.

— steve donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Family Medici' vividly and clearly tells the story of one clan's merciless self-aggrandizement," 28 Mar. 2018
Hawkes had a smaller role, as an abusive husband, in a similarly savage comedy last year: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, directed by Martin McDonagh.

— mary kaye schilling, Newsweek, "Watch: ‘Small Town Crime,’ 2018’s First Great Dark Comedy, Starring John Hawkes," 8 Jan. 2018
The reader pioneers a rough way through multiple texts, fragments, scraps of narrative, bits of oral history; we are supposed to feel the sheer density, and savage ironies, of diversity.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "Walter Kempowski’s Epic Novel of Germany in Collapse," 21 Mar. 2016
As Stalin's deputy, Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor) should be next in line, but Stalin's brutal enforcer Laventri Beria (Simon Russell Beale) already has begun his savage plotting for power.

— christopher kompanek, Houston Chronicle, "Film review: 'Stalin' stings many targets," 21 Mar. 2018
Back in 2006, his breakout hit for the Discovery Channel, Man vs. Wild, had him charging alone through savage landscapes, famously consuming everything from maggots to elephant dung to his own pee.

— michael roberts, Outside Online, "How Bear Grylls Keeps on Surviving," 20 Mar. 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

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
For years, media have done a real number on African-American people to make us out to be savages or the bogeyman incarnate.

— byron mccauley, Cincinnati.com, "Byron McCauley: This beating video went viral. Here's why that scares me.," 25 Jan. 2018
So which act was more savage: James' past histrionics or Harden's staredown step-back jumper?

— chris fedor, cleveland.com, "LeBron James impressed by James Harden's filthy 3-pointer: 'This is a game of showmanship and swag'," 7 Jan. 2018
But even Annaliese has some healthy aggression to let out, and every single one of the women proves to be an absolute savage on the track.

— aurelie corinthios, PEOPLE.com, "Hometowns Already? Arie Luyendyk Jr. Introduces Controversial Bachelor Contestant to His Family," 8 Jan. 2018
People were also blown away by Natalie Portman's matter-of-fact, yet savage, calling out of the all male nominees for the Best Director award.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Best Tweets from the 2018 Golden Globes," 8 Jan. 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

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
Predictably perhaps, Penn’s novel has been savaged by critics.

— mark shanahan, BostonGlobe.com, "Sean Penn questions #MeToo in Cambridge appearance," 30 Mar. 2018
Rubio was savaged during a Feb. 21 CNN town hall where students demanded Rubio refuse to accept future contributions from the gun lobby.

— william cummings, USA TODAY, "Marco Rubio tells March for Our Lives crowd many oppose gun bans," 24 Mar. 2018
Even with a cast of voices including Johnny Depp, Michael Caine and Maggie Smith, the mystery about garden gnomes that have gone missing across London was savaged by critics.

— Fortune, "Pacific Rim: Uprising Tops Black Panther in Debut Weekend," 25 Mar. 2018
Media commentators have savaged Pinduoduo and Qutoutiao, accusing them of taking advantage of people with lower incomes and educational levels.

— li yuan, WSJ, "Aim Low: How to Chase the Next Half-Billion Internet Addicts," 23 Mar. 2018
Post-storm replacement market hard to measure When Hurricanes Irma and Maria savaged much of the Caribbean Basin and portions of Florida last year, countless private vessels were heavily damaged or sent to the ocean bottom, where many remain today.

— david lyons, Sun-Sentinel.com, "New models touted at Palm Beach boat show, but brokers want more listings," 23 Mar. 2018
San Diego took control of Camp Callan and began the process of savaging and selling lumber and materials from the former U.S. Army buildings.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "City takes over Camp Callan," 23 Mar. 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.