as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
a study of the savagery shown by soldiers in wartime
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Recent Examples of savagery
This, too, is where savagery lurks—in tedious, monotonous tasks.
—
Seema Jilani
august 29, Literary Hub, 29 Aug. 2025
His portrayals throughout tend toward the gently sentimental, no noble savagery in view.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 1 Aug. 2025
In the 2000 Loser, Jason Biggs plays Paul, a sweet but unhip Midwestern kid who gets a scholarship to NYU, only to be met with the sneering savagery of his rich-kid roommates.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 July 2025
The savagery on display should be terrifying, but in a world where humans are so divorced from their actions, everything feels plastic, random, pointless.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for savagery
Seema Jilani
august 29, Literary Hub, 29 Aug. 2025
His portrayals throughout tend toward the gently sentimental, no noble savagery in view.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 1 Aug. 2025
In the 2000 Loser, Jason Biggs plays Paul, a sweet but unhip Midwestern kid who gets a scholarship to NYU, only to be met with the sneering savagery of his rich-kid roommates.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 July 2025
The savagery on display should be terrifying, but in a world where humans are so divorced from their actions, everything feels plastic, random, pointless.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for savagery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savagery
Noun
-
Being tied to the mast of a regime defined by cruelty and graft is a problem of another magnitude entirely.—
Dónal Gill,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
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After shifting power to the people—like a year-plus bus boycott can do, for example—and getting the government to lessen its corruption, cruelty, injustice or violence, defending those gains is a must.—
Michael Shank,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Biden was slow to react to Netanyahu's growing brutality and, as Harris says in her book, failed to show sufficient empathy for the plight of the Gazans.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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The movie begins with a 10-year-old Michael already showing the brutality for which The Shape was known, then flashes forward 15 years to an adult Michael (Tyler Mane) pursuing his younger sister, Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton).—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Savagery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savagery. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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