savagery
noun
sav·age·ry
ˈsa-vi-jə-rē 
ˈsa-vij-rē
plural savageries
1
a
: the quality of being savage
b
: an act of cruelty or violence
2
: an uncivilized state
Examples of savagery in a Sentence
The savagery of the attack was horrifying.
an act of pure savagery
the savageries committed by the soldiers
Recent Examples on the Web
Slaveholders first developed the trope in the 1790s in their representations of the emergent nation of Haiti, framing it as a dangerous site of social experimentation and savagery where Black freedom would inexorably lead to white death.
—
Time, 9 June 2025
That the specific task at hand in Warfare is so vague is a good reminder that though this happened 20 years ago, there are people right now who have been ordered to enforce political will with violence, and this savagery will likely repeat for all time.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2025
The men who abducted Paiva were indicted by federal prosecutors in 2014—but they have been protected by an amnesty law, passed as the regime was coming to an end, which has effectively kept the country from reckoning with the savagery of military rule.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Anderson loves visceral, gut-punch action, and in the past he’s brought to fairly generic stories an invigorating sense of menace and savagery.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for savagery
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Time, 9 June 2025
That the specific task at hand in Warfare is so vague is a good reminder that though this happened 20 years ago, there are people right now who have been ordered to enforce political will with violence, and this savagery will likely repeat for all time.
—Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2025
The men who abducted Paiva were indicted by federal prosecutors in 2014—but they have been protected by an amnesty law, passed as the regime was coming to an end, which has effectively kept the country from reckoning with the savagery of military rule.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Anderson loves visceral, gut-punch action, and in the past he’s brought to fairly generic stories an invigorating sense of menace and savagery.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for savagery
Cite this Entry
“Savagery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/savagery. Accessed 22 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
savagery
noun
sav·age·ry
ˈsav-ij-(ə-)rē
plural savageries
1
: savage disposition or action : cruelty
2
: the state of being savage
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