as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
the unthinkable savageness that must be required to torture a prisoner
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 savageness
Government should tame the savageness of man and make life in this world more gentle, not crueler.
—
Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savageness
Noun
-
Nothing that reflects the sheer abjection of the murderous dog pounds of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries or the many individual cruelties visited upon dogs.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
There are allegories that can be read about fear of the unknown breeding cruelty and exploitation, but Disclosure Day is first and foremost a propulsive yarn with thematic roots in hope, truth, empathy and perhaps even spirituality.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Lyrics by Ahrens and dialogue by McNally about the discrimination and brutality that Black Americans and immigrants face can seem straight out of the current moment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
-
Where the movie’s true eccentricity comes in is in its combination of breezy comedy with shocking brutality and gore, perhaps most exemplified in an oddly casual moment in a morgue where Seagal and Wayans find a clue in the form of a serial number on a dead woman’s breast implant.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Savageness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savageness. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
