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
O’Connell is terrific, but both his character and his performance are badly served by the prolonged savagery of certain scenes.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
Then came the October 7, 2023, savagery by Hamas that took the lives of more than 1,200 innocent Jews—40 years after the attack on America’s troops in Beirut.
—Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
With the facial articulation of a silent film star crossed with the savagery of a post-Saw killer, Art went from underground curiosity to horror icon within a decade.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
This, too, is where savagery lurks—in tedious, monotonous tasks.
—Seema Jilani
august 29, Literary Hub, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for savagery
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
Then came the October 7, 2023, savagery by Hamas that took the lives of more than 1,200 innocent Jews—40 years after the attack on America’s troops in Beirut.
—Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
With the facial articulation of a silent film star crossed with the savagery of a post-Saw killer, Art went from underground curiosity to horror icon within a decade.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
This, too, is where savagery lurks—in tedious, monotonous tasks.
—Seema Jilani
august 29, Literary Hub, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for savagery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savagery
Noun
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Newspaper headlines screamed that Welch had called out McCarthy for his cruelty, his ruthlessness and his lies.—
Kristen Monroe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
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Call it the cruelty of small differences.—
Catherine Bray,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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District Judge Dayna Blazey delivered the ruling before a packed courtroom, closing a dark chapter for the men, their families and a city long haunted by the brutality of the crime.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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The declaration was aimed at closing a dark chapter for the men and their families, and for a city that was shaken by the brutality of the crime and investigators' inability to solve it for decades.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Savagery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savagery. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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