as in attacked
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
book reviewers mercilessly savaged his latest novel
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Recent Examples of savaged
Chronic disease programs, in particular, have been savaged, whether those programs have been focused on oral health or tobacco control, to name a few.
—
Helen Branswell, STAT, 30 Mar. 2026
We’ve been dealt a nigh-unbearable hand when two of our communities were utterly savaged by fire.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
The crime comedy Gigli (2003) earned little more than 10 percent of its $54 million production costs and was savaged by critics.
—René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026
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
Helen Branswell, STAT, 30 Mar. 2026
We’ve been dealt a nigh-unbearable hand when two of our communities were utterly savaged by fire.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
The crime comedy Gigli (2003) earned little more than 10 percent of its $54 million production costs and was savaged by critics.
—René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savaged
Verb
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Hezbollah, the Lebanese paramilitary force, has attacked Israeli troops and targeted northern Israel with rockets and drones.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026
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While the man was being attacked, the woman used a shopping cart to fend off the suspect and protect the male victim.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
Verb
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In 2022, similar detection work resulted in NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which slammed the DART spacecraft into the small asteroid Dimorphos orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, changing the orbits of both child and parent around the sun.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 May 2026
-
The president also slammed Schumer and his allies in the lengthy post.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Katie Porter scolded, Tom Steyer channeled Bernie.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
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The victim said he was singled out for laughing, scolded, and told to continue reading before being ordered into the hallway.—
Peter D'Oench,
CBS News,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Savaged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savaged. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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