savage

comparative more savage · superlative most savage

1. Wild; not cultivated or tamed.

   a savage forest

   3 more examples

   a savage wilderness

   The Englishman had extracted the heavy spear from the body of the lion, so that when he went into the forest to hunt that morning he had a feeling of much greater security than at any time since they had been cast upon the savage shore.

   1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 193

   Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage / And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

   1981, Stan Rogers, “Northwest Passage”, in Northwest Passage, Dundas, Ontario: Fogarty's Cove Music

   Synonyms: feral, indomite, tameless, feral, ferine, indomite, tameless, uplandish

2. Barbaric; not civilized.

   savage manners

   4 more examples

   I obſerv'd a Place where there had been a Fire made, and a Circle dug in the Earth, like a Cockpit, where it is ſuppoſed the Savage Wretches had ſat down to their inhumane Feaſtings upon the Bodies of their Fellow-Creatures.

   1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, pages 194–195

   What nation since the commencement of the Christian era ever arose from savage to civilized without Christianity?

   1826 September, Edward D. Griffin, “Sermon IV. […] ”, in The National Preacher, volume 1, number 4, page 51

   It is so absurd to advance into the presence of savage royalty after the fashion of an Irishman driving a pig to market, for that is what we looked like, and the idea nearly made me burst out laughing then and there.

   1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC

   Her back was toward the jungle, and so she did not see the grasses part, or the savage face that peered from between. Little, bloodshot, close-set eyes scanned her intently, roving from time to time about the open beach for indications of the presence of others than herself.

   1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 193

   Synonyms: barbarous, pagan, uncivil

3. Primitive; lacking complexity or sophistication.

   Synonyms: crude, rough, rude

4. Fierce and ferocious.

   savage beasts

   2 more examples

   a savage spirit

   Muſick has Charms to ſooth a ſavage Breaſt, / To ſoften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.

   1697, [William] Congreve, The Mourning Bride, a Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 1

   Synonyms: fierce, furious, rabid, ferocious, fierce, furious, rampant, grim

5. Brutal, vicious, or merciless.

   He gave the dog a savage kick.

   4 more examples

   The woman was killed in a savage manner.

   Fear of their cargo bred a savage cruelty into the crew. One captain, to strike terror into the rest, killed a slave and dividing heart, liver and entrails into 300 pieces made each of the slaves eat one, threatening those who refused with the same torture. Such incidents were not rare.

   1963, C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins, 2nd Revised edition, page 9

   Mr. Lightfoot, 31, returned to the witness stand for the second day and continued a harrowing, first-person account of the savage beating that he received in July 2012, when, Bronx prosecutors contend, the officers decided to teach him a lesson.

   2016 April 18, Winnie Hu with Kate Pastor, “Ex-Inmate Describes Rikers Beating as ‘Open Season’ for Guards on Trial”, in The New York Times

   The fight is not all one-sided. Lion is taking a savage beating as the two flagships trade body blows almost independent of the furious carronade going on behind them.

   2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 14:13 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2022

   Synonyms: ruthless, sadistic, spiteful, barbarous, bowelless, brutal, compassionless, cruel

6. slangOf an insult or person: disrespectful, audacious, and either blunt or sarcastic, in a hilarious way.

   Wow, that was a savage burn. Absolutely no chill.

   5 more examples

   'Oops, I did it again': Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson's deke was so savage it has a name

   2018 February 22, Matt Bonesteel, “(headline)”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2022

   Stephen Colbert revealed a savage new campaign slogan for President Donald Trump on Wednesday ― and it came courtesy of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

   2020 May 14, Ron Dicker, “Stephen Colbert Turns Rand Paul Diss Into Grim Campaign Slogan For Trump”, in HuffPost, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2022

   But now Gen Z is coming for them and it's absolutely savage. TikTok comment sections like this one have revealed the fact no one likes millennials and their endless Harry Potter references.

   2020 June 18, Diyora Shadijanova, “What Gen Z'ers Really Think of Millennials”, in VICE, archived from the original on 12 May 2023

   This match continued the theme from last month as the two cousins started off with heated trash talk. Roman Reigns telling Jey Uso "I will end you..." in the same tone a parent tells their kid "I'm warning you..." was so savage.

   2020 October 25, Alfred Konuwa, “WWE Hell In A Cell 2020 Results: Winners, News And Notes On October 25”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Nov 2020

   A savage new song by Shakira in which the Colombian star, philanthropist and committed believer in the veracity of hips ridicules her former partner Gerard Piqué has logged more than 63m YouTube views in 24 hours, making it the most watched new Latin song in the platform's history.

   2023 January 13, Sam Jones, “'Out of your league': Shakira song mocking ex Gerard Piqué breaks YouTube record”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 May 2023

7. UKslangUnpleasant or unfair.

   – I'll see you in detention. – Ah, savage!

8. IrelandUSslangGreat, brilliant, amazing.
9. USslangSevere, rude, aggressive.

   – They were so savage to them!

plural savages · alternative salvage

1. derogatoryhistoricalA member of a traditional, nonindustrialised society or indigenous tribe or other group, typically living closely with nature outside of the infrastructure of urbanized civilization.

   The glimpse of the steamboat had for some reason filled those savages with unrestrained grief.

   1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II, page 491

   5 more examples

   'Well, my lord, I don't know,' said Freeman with a sort of jolly sneer; 'we have been dining with the savages.' 'They are not savages, Freeman.' 'Well, my lord, they have not much more clothes, anyhow; and as for knives and forks, there is not such a thing known.'

   1847, Benjamin Disraeli, Tancred: or The New Crusade, page 251

   The natives here, even those who seem to be of pare Papuan race, were much more reserved and taciturn than those of Ké. This is probably because I only saw them as yet among strangers and in small parties. One must see the savage at home to know what he really is.

   1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 206

   In the year 1879, when the Utes succeeded in getting some United States troops into what was afterwards known as Thornburg's "rat hole," several mounted couriers succeeded in slipping through the circling line of savages.

   1901 July 19, “Horses in time of War”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 10, page 296

   When Davey grasped spears and wommera it was impossible to recognize in this painted savage the alert, nattily dressed tracker.

   1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 77

   Although he shows traces of the Romantic belief in the felicity of the savage, these are not numerous or important and there is no suggestion in his work that mankind could or should revert to a primitive life-style.

   1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 411

2. figurativelyAn aggressively defiant person.

   Their kids are little savages! One of them bit me the other day.

3. slangSomeone who speaks in an audacious, hilarious, and often sarcastic manner.

   "Sometimes they would stay up while she'd have a whole new guy in a relationship," she wrote in a comment. "LMFAO she is a savage."

   2022 August 31, Emily Lefroy, “I 'hard launch' my first dates on Instagram: Confident or unhinged?”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2022

   1 more example

   It was on Dec. 29 that TikTok star Liv Pearsall posted a video titled "7 Times Elmo Was an Absolute Savage," in which the star with more than 2.7 million followers lip-synced to various Elmo-ments.

   2022 January 6, Kalhan Rosenblatt, “Elmo's feud with a pet rock has consumed the internet”, in NBC News, archived from the original on 29 May 2023

4. obsoleteA wild and ferocious beast.

   The torch-eyed ſavage, with growl tremendous, riſing up, diſlocated at one blow the arched neck of Sadit's Arabian ſteed, and brought the unfortunate omrah to the duſt, expiring between his extended claws.

   1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 7

present singular third person savages · participle present savaging · participle past savaged · past savaged

1. transitiveTo attack or assault someone or something ferociously or without restraint.

   No matter how anyone might savage me, I should stay strong.

   1 more example

   But that was only the start, because the Fletchers - (obviously) carrying two torpedo launchers - were only launching half-salvos, so one full wave of torpedoes had driven off the cruisers after having savaged the destroyers, aaand then it was a case of, well, here come twenty-five destroyers, here comes^([sic]) two hundred and fifty torpedoes, hello Japanese battleships, dodge this!

   2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 26:48 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2022

2. figurativelytransitiveTo criticise vehemently.

   His latest film was savaged by most reviewers.

   2 more examples

   British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.

   2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848

   The first sparks came on Thursday night, with a blistering speech from Ben Shapiro[…] who bemoaned the “frauds” and “grifters” in the movement, and went on to savage by name a roster of powerful right-wing figures.

   2025 December 20, Richard Fausset, Ken Bensinger, “Turning Point’s Annual Gathering Turns Into a Gripefest”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

3. transitiveTo attack with the teeth.
4. obsoletetransitiveTo make savage.

   Its bloodhounds, savaged by a cross of wolf.

   1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London

1. A surname.
2. An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland.
3. A suburban city in Scott County, Minnesota; a suburb of Minneapolis.
4. An unincorporated community in Tate County, Mississippi.
5. An unincorporated community in Richland County, Montana.