1
as in wild
living outdoors without taming or domestication by humans
animal experts discourage homeowners from trying to adopt feral animals as pets
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
a novel that reveals just how thin the veneer of civilization is and how feral we are at bottom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in animal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of feral
Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Plus, feral hogs are damn near everywhere throughout the South.
—M.d. Johnson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
Some of the cattle roaming the marsh are rumored to be the feral descendants of herds emancipated two decades ago by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall about five miles upriver.
—Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Joshua Mohr’s Viking Punk trilogy is a feral, genre-bending fever dream where Norse mythology collides with the grit of Oakland’s underworld punk scene.
—Air Mail, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feral
Noun
The program provides free spay/neuter surgeries for free-roaming cats in areas throughout metro Phoenix that have large populations of feral cats.
—Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Plus, feral hogs are damn near everywhere throughout the South.
—M.d. Johnson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
Some of the cattle roaming the marsh are rumored to be the feral descendants of herds emancipated two decades ago by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall about five miles upriver.
—Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Joshua Mohr’s Viking Punk trilogy is a feral, genre-bending fever dream where Norse mythology collides with the grit of Oakland’s underworld punk scene.
—Air Mail, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feral
Adjective
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July through September brings the most color, and wild sunflowers are well-known for growing here.—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Sep. 2025
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John Mitani is a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan, whose studies over 45 years have included wild chimpanzees in Uganda and Tanzania; gibbons and orangutans in Indonesia, gorillas in Rwanda, and bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo.—
Keith Matheny,
Freep.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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When Quantum Might Win The intuition machine demonstrates better performance than the logic engine in specific domains through its ability to restructure learning processes rather than using brute force methods.—
Sadhasivam Mohanadas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Oddly, that wouldn't be a problem if fusion plants were already abundant because there'd be so much surplus power that brute force methods could be used to produce tritium.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Her efforts saved the animal’s life and landed her in her hometown newspaper, The Mountain Eagle, which was the first to write about the dramatic rescue and resuscitation.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Broadbelt’s death shocked the community and reignited a countywide conversation about the dual problem of unleashed dogs and overcrowded animal shelters.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This experience prioritizes the animals’ wellbeing by focusing on increasing the population, collecting data, and working with experts who have success in re-wilding.—
Jack Tydeman,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Even for those in the North who didn’t care a damn for the four million held in brutal bondage, or those who wanted a soft, conciliatory approach, the war began to take on new and moral meaning.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
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The trailer also showcases several brutal fights, an over-flowing oil emergency at the patch, a car accident, and Cami paying witness to two men taking down a third individual with their guns drawn.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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My favorite Maginot menagerie beastie remains the multi-eyed crawling eyeball, who in this episode takes up residence within the eye socket of a Prodigy lab goat.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
27 Aug. 2025
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Most of the remaining beasties now live on remote islands near the equator, and most humans would conveniently like to forget them.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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This thrilling prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and Alyla Browne as young Furiosa, who is abducted by the savage warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — leader of the Biker Horde — and spends the next decade in captivity plotting her revenge and escape.—
Charlotte Walsh,
People.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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There was a time when loving someone of the wrong gender could result in harassment, arrest or a savage beating.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Scary Farm visitors will enter the maze as military recruits arriving at the secret lab to be transformed into animalistic super soldiers using one of three methods — surgery, chemical treatments or genetic mutations.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
20 Aug. 2025
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The key characters share in their alterity and summon the animalistic archetype of the stray, behaviorally and physiologically.—
Olivia Bennett,
Variety,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Feral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feral. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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