1
2
: wild, uncultivated
seldom have I seen such savage scenery—
Douglas Carruthers
Douglas Carruthers4
old-fashioned + offensive
: lacking complex or advanced culture : uncivilized
savagely
adverb
savageness
noun
plural savages
1
old-fashioned + offensive
: a person belonging to a primitive society
2
: a brutal person
3
: a rude or unmannerly person
Synonyms
Adjective
- barbarian
- barbaric
- barbarous
- heathen
- heathenish
- natural
- Neanderthal
- Neandertal
- rude
- uncivil
- uncivilized
- uncultivated
- wild
Noun
- baddie
- baddy
- beast
- brute
- caitiff
- devil
- evildoer
- fiend
- heavy
- hound
- knave
- meanie
- meany
- miscreant
- monster
- nazi
- no-good
- rapscallion
- rascal
- reprobate
- rogue
- scalawag
- scallywag
- scamp
- scapegrace
- scoundrel
- varlet
- villain
- wretch
Verb
Examples of savage in a Sentence
Adjective
He was the victim of a savage attack.
The coast was lashed by savage storms.
He wrote savage satires about people he didn't like.
Noun
What kind of savage could have committed such a terrible crime?
what kind of savage would hurt a baby?
Verb
He looked like he'd been savaged by a wild animal.
A hurricane savaged the city.
The newspapers savaged his reputation.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 27 Dec. 2022
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2022
The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2023
Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change.
—Aaron Morrison, Claudia Lauer and Adrian Sainz, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Jan. 2023
Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Her 2001 memoir, A Life’s Work, was savaged by the British press for its frank portrayal of the desolation of early motherhood.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 28 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for savage 
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.
Adjective
As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 27 Dec. 2022
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2022
Noun
Often regarded by historians as a collection of savage tribes, the Scythians emerge as a pivotal force of the ancient world in this monumental history.
—The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2023
Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change.
—Aaron Morrison, Claudia Lauer and Adrian Sainz, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Jan. 2023
Verb
Hudson was one of the relievers the Yankees savaged on Tuesday night.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Her 2001 memoir, A Life’s Work, was savaged by the British press for its frank portrayal of the desolation of early motherhood.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 28 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for savage
Articles Related to savage
Dictionary Entries Near savage
Cite this Entry
“Savage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/savage. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
savage
2 of 2 noun1
offensive
: a person belonging to a group with a low level of civilization
2
: a brutal person
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English savage "untamed, wild," from early French salvage, savage, (same meaning), from Latin salvaticus, an altered form of earlier silvaticus "of the woods, wild," from silva "woods, forest"
Word Origin
In Latin the adjective silvaticus, a derivative of silva, "forest," meant "growing or living in the forest." Because forest life is wild, the adjective easily acquired the meaning "wild, uncultivated" in later Latin as well as in the spoken Latin of the declining Roman Empire. Medieval French inherited silvaticus, altered to salvaticus, as salvage or sauvage, which was borrowed into Middle English. Medieval French sauvage retained the source meanings "wild, uncultivated (of fruit)" and "untamed (of animals)." But it could also be applied to humans, in which case its meanings could range from "lacking civilization, barbarous" to "fierce, cruel." English savage has had all these senses at some point in its history.
Biographical Definition
Savage
biographical name
Sav·age
ˈsa-vij 
Michael Joseph 1872–1940 prime minister of New Zealand (1935–40)
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share