savages

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of savage. Offensive when used of people.

   The explorers' journals branded the tribespeople as savages unworthy of trust.

   In the old novel, the shipwrecked sailors lived in dread of the savages beyond the reef.

   Note

   One plural spelling covers uses of very different temperature. Applied to peoples, as in old explorers' journals, it is derogatory and belongs to historical writing. In current slang, the same plural praises people whose talk is audacious, hilarious and often sarcastic. An obsolete use meant wild, ferocious beasts. Context decides which reading a listener hears, so the slang sense needs a setting that makes the compliment clear.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of savage.

   A wounded leopard savages whatever predator dares to approach it.

   The newspaper's lead reviewer routinely savages the season's most celebrated productions.

   Note

   The present tense of a strictly transitive verb: something always gets savaged. A leopard savages an intruder, and a reviewer savages a premiere. The physical attack and the vehement criticism use the same construction, so the object tells you which meaning is in play. An older causative use, to make someone or something savage, is obsolete. Shared spelling makes it identical to the plural noun, so the sentence structure tells the two apart.

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