as in attacked
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
book reviewers mercilessly savaged his latest novel
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Recent Examples of savaged
The committee’s Democratic members savaged Rubio for diminishing America’s global role; the meeting grew so rancorous that Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho who was Rubio’s closest friend in the Senate, had to repeatedly bang his gavel to bring order.
—
Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
The Blue Bag program went ahead despite being savaged by critics for years throughout its planning stages, and was not considered a success when it was scrapped more than a dozen years later for the city's current blue cart program.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
Instead, it was largely savaged by critics, crushing for the man at its center.
—Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 18 Dec. 2025
In the book, Giuffre alleges that the pair trafficked her to many powerful men, including a prince and a former prime minister who savaged her.
—Robin Abcarian, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which savaged New Orleans and much of the Gulf region, led to a push to better understand how and why these storms occur, and what agencies could do to better prepare.
—Alana Wise, NPR, 28 Sep. 2025
Not bad for a film that critics savaged.
—David Bloom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Kraven the Hunter—a Marvel standalone movie starring Aaron Taylor Johnson and Russell Crowe—is being savaged by critics.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
This year, Spotify Wrapped has been savaged by its own users for its uninspired presentation and a lack of personalization.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2024
Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
The Blue Bag program went ahead despite being savaged by critics for years throughout its planning stages, and was not considered a success when it was scrapped more than a dozen years later for the city's current blue cart program.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
Instead, it was largely savaged by critics, crushing for the man at its center.
—Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 18 Dec. 2025
In the book, Giuffre alleges that the pair trafficked her to many powerful men, including a prince and a former prime minister who savaged her.
—Robin Abcarian, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which savaged New Orleans and much of the Gulf region, led to a push to better understand how and why these storms occur, and what agencies could do to better prepare.
—Alana Wise, NPR, 28 Sep. 2025
Not bad for a film that critics savaged.
—David Bloom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Kraven the Hunter—a Marvel standalone movie starring Aaron Taylor Johnson and Russell Crowe—is being savaged by critics.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
This year, Spotify Wrapped has been savaged by its own users for its uninspired presentation and a lack of personalization.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savaged
Verb
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One study in 2020 surveyed 261 herders in Mongolia, another common habitat for snow leopards; while many reported having seen snow leopards, or had their livestock attacked by snow leopards, none reported any attacks on humans.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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The upstream piranhas attacked her, and her blood flowing downstream attracted the rest of the piranhas, leaving the creek clear for the herd to cross.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Wilson slammed Homeland Security officials for the shooting that came a day after a woman was fatally shot by immigration agents in Minneapolis.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
9 Jan. 2026
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Many Democrats have slammed the administration's conclusions, arguing that the video does not appear to show the woman trying to hit officers.—
Maggie Vespa,
NBC news,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Students sat in rows, making faces at each other, scolded by their teachers to behave.—
David Wilson,
Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders scolded the media on Sunday after the team’s close loss to the Buffalo Bills at home.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Savaged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savaged. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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