as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
a study of the savagery shown by soldiers in wartime
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of savagery
Adapted for television by Adolescence co-creator, Emmy winner Jack Thorne, in Lord of the Flies, innocence descends into savagery when a group of English schoolboys becomes desert island castaways.
—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
6 Apr. 2026
After the war, in sober reflection, the United States helped lead a global effort to try to tame the savagery of conflict and, in particular, to shield civilians.
—
Nicholas D. Kristof,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
Lewis makes Allegra a horny scamp, and Olyphant’s Pete, the group ringleader, has a svelte savagery.
—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
Some of the worst savagery took place in the Philippines, after the United States acquired it in 1898.
—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
New York Daily News,
13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for savagery
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
6 Apr. 2026
After the war, in sober reflection, the United States helped lead a global effort to try to tame the savagery of conflict and, in particular, to shield civilians.
—
Nicholas D. Kristof,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
Lewis makes Allegra a horny scamp, and Olyphant’s Pete, the group ringleader, has a svelte savagery.
—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
Some of the worst savagery took place in the Philippines, after the United States acquired it in 1898.
—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
New York Daily News,
13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for savagery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savagery
Noun
-
These passages highlight the typically human cruelty and hypocrisy of fighting for one’s own liberty while denying it to one’s neighbors.
-
Last week, Dixon also pleaded no contest to the three felony animal cruelty charges.
Noun
-
But it’s lost on these boys, whose youth has been ground away by the drug trade’s meaningless brutality.
-
There is a weird intimacy to hand-to-hand combat and the brutality of it.
Cite this Entry
“Savagery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savagery. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
