1
as in brutes
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person
what kind of savage would hurt a baby?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barbarians
an uncivilized person
inhabitants of exotic lands were invariably portrayed by early travel writers as savages
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in attacks
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
book reviewers mercilessly savaged his latest novel
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savages
Noun
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For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026 -
Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
We were inspired by their outrageous VHS cover art that promised epic tales of heroic barbarians rescuing buxom babes from giant monsters.—
Bear McCreary,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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The Gauls had been described as barbarians by Julius Caesar and Livy, but now had become these Ur people, far more ancient and civilized than their ancient Roman detractors.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Unlike Alzheimer’s disease, which typically attacks memory, FTD primarily affects behavior, personality, and language.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
28 Jan. 2026
-
One option is a small, worm-like organism that attacks them in the soil.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Picking winners and losers, heroes and villains, pathways to success and failure, generates excitement for an event and manufactures a sense of urgency for maximal viewing pleasure.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
-
As the country moves toward the 2026 midterms, the temptation will be to treat our current racial, political, and economic crisis as a sharp break from the past; to search for singular villains; and to imagine that a return to normalcy is just one election away.—
Heather Ann Thompson,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While some online scolds didn’t like Johnson’s profanity, this has played well in Chicago, a city that has been ravenous for a winning Bears team since the 20th Super Bowl.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
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Or on Bluesky with the joke scolds, or on Mastodon with the Linux hackers, or on Threads with the voice-forward brands?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But beneath his plush exterior and upbeat messaging, Buddy is an insatiably needy, controlling narcissist requiring constant affirmations of the children’s love and filling their heads with terror of the monsters lurking in the outside world beyond the park in which the show takes place.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
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And the monsters are truly terrifying.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This campaign abuses WhatsApp Web to spread automatically once a device is infected.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
17 Jan. 2026
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In the film, Victor emotionally abuses the Creature.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
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Top police brass nationwide rarely criticize their federal partners, relying on collaboration to investigate gangs, extremist groups and other major criminals — while also counting on millions in funding from Washington each year.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Savages.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savages. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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