# savage

Pronunciation: say "SAV-ij" /ˈsævɪd͡ʒ/

## Adjective

1. Brutal, vicious, or merciless, marked by extreme cruelty or violence.
   - Simple: Very cruel and violent, showing no kindness at all.
   - _The dictator ordered a savage crackdown on the protesters._
   - _Historians describe the battle as one of the most savage of the war._
2. Fierce and ferocious in temperament or force.
   - Simple: Very wild and angry, ready to attack at any moment.
   - _A savage gust tore the sail from the mast._
   - _The wounded bear grew more savage as the hunters closed in._
3. Of an insult or person, boldly disrespectful in a blunt or sarcastic way that makes people laugh. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Bold and rude in a funny way that shocks people.
   - _The comedian's savage takedown of the senator went viral within hours._
   - _Nobody in the group chat escapes her savage one-liners._
4. Wild and untamed; in a natural state, neither cultivated nor domesticated.
   - Simple: Wild and natural, not grown, trained, or controlled by people.
   - _After decades of neglect, the orchard had gone completely savage._
   - _Wolves remain savage even when raised in captivity from birth._
5. Barbaric and uncivilized; lacking the customs, restraints, or order of civilized society.
   - Simple: Wild and rough, without the rules and order of modern society.
   - _Cut off from rescue, the crew slid from discipline into savage disorder._
   - _Nineteenth-century novels often cast frontier life as savage and lawless._
8. Outstandingly great, brilliant, or amazing. *(slang, Ireland, US)*
   - Simple: Really good or impressive in an exciting way.
   - _The band's encore was absolutely savage, and the crowd refused to leave._
   - _She landed a savage triple jump that brought the judges to their feet._
9. Primitive in form or method; lacking complexity, refinement, or sophistication.
   - Simple: Very simple and basic, without modern skill or detail.
   - _Early surgical instruments look savage beside their modern counterparts._
   - _The old forge relied on a savage process of hammer and open flame._
14. Severe, rude, or aggressive, especially of remarks, criticism, or behavior. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Very harsh, rude, or mean, holding nothing back.
   - _The coach gave a savage assessment of the team's defense after the loss._
   - _His takedown of the proposal was so savage that nobody at the table tried to defend it._
15. Unpleasant or unfair, especially in a way that feels harsh or undeserved. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: Very unpleasant or not fair at all.
   - _Making us resit the whole exam over one missing signature is savage._
   - _He got dropped from the squad by text message. Absolutely savage._

## Verb

6. To attack someone or something fiercely and without holding back.
   - Simple: To attack a person or animal in a wild, violent way.
   - _The mob savaged the referee before security could reach the pitch._
   - _Keepers warn that the chimp can savage anyone who enters its enclosure._
7. To criticize someone or something vehemently.
   - Simple: To attack a person or their work with very harsh words.
   - _The committee's report savaged the agency's handling of the crisis._
   - _Critics are expected to savage the sequel when it opens next week._
13. To attack with the teeth, as an animal biting and mauling a victim.
   - Simple: To attack a person or animal by biting them again and again.
   - _Stray dogs sometimes savage livestock that wanders too close to the village._
   - _The lion savaged its handler during the evening show, and the act was canceled._

## Noun

10. A person who is aggressively defiant, pushing back hard and refusing to be controlled.
   - Simple: A person who fights back hard and never gives up or backs down.
   - _Negotiators warned the board that the union rep was a savage who would not blink first._
   - _She crossed the finish line bleeding and grinning, a savage to the very end._
11. A person regarded as primitive or living outside civilization; a barbarian. Now offensive.
   - Simple: An unkind old word for a person seen as wild or uncivilized.
   - _Colonial reports dismissed the local people as savages while depending on their knowledge to survive._
   - _To the governor, any man without shoes and a hat was a savage._
12. Someone who talks in a bold, very funny, and often sarcastic or cutting way. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Someone who says bold, funny things without worrying what people think.
   - _Her acceptance speech roasted half the room; the woman is a savage._
   - _He answered the troll with one line and logged off. An absolute savage._

## Noun

16. A wild and ferocious beast. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A wild and fierce animal, such as a wolf or bear.
   - _The chronicle tells how the hunters cornered the savage in its den beneath the crag._
   - _No traveler crossed the moor after dark for fear of the savages that prowled there on four legs._

## Verb

17. To make wild, ferocious, or brutal. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a person or animal wild and fierce.

## Origin

From Middle English savage, from Old French sauvage 'wild, untamed', from Late Latin salvaticus, an alteration of Latin silvaticus 'wild', literally 'of the woods', from silva 'forest, grove'. It is a doublet of sylvatic.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/savage (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).