1
2
: wild, uncultivated
seldom have I seen such savage scenery—
Douglas Carruthers
Douglas Carruthers4
old-fashioned + offensive
: lacking complex or advanced culture : uncivilized
savagely
adverb
savageness
noun
plural savages
1
old-fashioned + offensive
: a person belonging to a primitive society
2
: a brutal person
3
: a rude or unmannerly person
Examples of savage in a Sentence
Adjective
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.
Noun
What kind of savage could have committed such a terrible crime?
what kind of savage would hurt a baby?
Verb
He looked like he'd been savaged by a wild animal.
A hurricane savaged the city.
The newspapers savaged his reputation.
Recent Examples on the Web
Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, 2023, and took more than 250 hostages in a savage attack.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2025
Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Texas is gearing up for war as a savage, flesh-eating fly appears poised for a US invasion and is expanding its range of victims.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 8 Aug. 2025
David Bloom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
His country had been savaged by warring powers for decades.
—Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for savage
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Adjective
The singer went viral at Monday night’s show for her seemingly savage reaction to Tori Kelly and Muni Long’s tribute performance.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, 2023, and took more than 250 hostages in a savage attack.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
The 'Kill Tony' host, Hinchcliffe, famously appeared at last year's massive Netflix roast for Tom Brady and generated buzz for his savage lines aimed at the NFL legend.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Texas is gearing up for war as a savage, flesh-eating fly appears poised for a US invasion and is expanding its range of victims.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 8 Aug. 2025
Verb
Not bad for a film that critics savaged.
—David Bloom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
His country had been savaged by warring powers for decades.
—Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for savage
Cite this Entry
“Savage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/savage. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
savage
2 of 2 noun1
offensive
: a person belonging to a group with a low level of civilization
2
: a brutal person
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English savage "untamed, wild," from early French salvage, savage, (same meaning), from Latin salvaticus, an altered form of earlier silvaticus "of the woods, wild," from silva "woods, forest"
Word Origin
In Latin the adjective silvaticus, a derivative of silva, "forest," meant "growing or living in the forest." Because forest life is wild, the adjective easily acquired the meaning "wild, uncultivated" in later Latin as well as in the spoken Latin of the declining Roman Empire. Medieval French inherited silvaticus, altered to salvaticus, as salvage or sauvage, which was borrowed into Middle English. Medieval French sauvage retained the source meanings "wild, uncultivated (of fruit)" and "untamed (of animals)." But it could also be applied to humans, in which case its meanings could range from "lacking civilization, barbarous" to "fierce, cruel." English savage has had all these senses at some point in its history.
Biographical Definition
Savage
biographical name
Sav·age
ˈsa-vij 
Michael Joseph 1872–1940 prime minister of New Zealand (1935–40)
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