SAVAGED Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

savaged

verb

Definition of savaged next

past tense of savage

as in attacked

to criticize harshly and usually publicly book reviewers mercilessly savaged his latest novel

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 savaged When Biden considered appointing Susan Davies, a former deputy White House counsel under President Obama, to the Justice Department’s top antitrust post, a slew of articles savaged her as a corporate shill. —

Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 26 May 2026 Though the film included input – and an onscreen role – from the legendary Gene Kelly, it was savaged by critics. —

Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 15 May 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for savaged

Verb

Carney said antisemites in Canada have fired bullets at Jewish schools and thrown firebombs at synagogues and attacked community centers.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 2 June 2026
Thousands of mail carriers across the United States were attacked by dogs in 2025, with Los Angeles topping the list for most attacks, according to a new report from the United States Postal Service.

— Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 1 June 2026