I. ˈsavij, -vēj adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English sauvage, savage, from Middle French sauvage, salvage, from Medieval Latin salvaticus, alteration of Latin silvaticus of the woods, wild, from silva wood, grove
1.
a. : not domesticated or under human control : untamed
the dog that is kept in a good home is usually watched carefully, kept from contact with savage dogs — Morris Fishbein
in time the savage bull doth bear the yoke — Shakespeare
b. : marked by cruelty : ferocious , fierce
the victim of a savage attack that left him crippled
his tone containing the savage satisfaction of a cat purring over a freshly caught mouse — Erle Stanley Gardner
c. : enraged with anger or pain : furious
when I was left at home I was savage at not being let go — G.B.Shaw
the mother bird flew about over me, squealing in a very angry, savage manner — John Burroughs
d. : violent and extreme in action, manner, or effect : devastating , relentless
lashed out with all the oratorical fury and savage invective at his command — Sidney Warren
what must happen in the savagest fury of a hurricane is left to the imagination — T.M.Longstreth
a savage flu epidemic — Mollie Panter-Downes
2.
a. : of, relating to, or characteristic of an unsettled and uncultivated place or region : rugged , wild
there was something sylvan and savage in the mountains on the farther side — George Borrow
seldom have I seen such savage scenery associated with such placid beauty — Douglas Carruthers
b. archaic : growing wild : not cultivated
savage berries of the wood — John Dryden
3. : boorish , rude
the savage bad manners of most motorists — M.P.O'Connor
4.
a. : uncivilized
think that we have gained much over savage people in our notion of murder — W.G.Sumner
civilized countries are more accessible than savage ones — Elinor Wylie
b. : of, belonging to, or produced by a primitive or a primitive people
his savage bones were small and delicate — David Garnett
in delineation of animal life they are thus superior to modern savage fine art — Encyc. Americana
Synonyms: see barbarian , fierce
II. noun
( -s )
1. : salvage man
2.
a. : a person living in a primitive state or belonging to a primitive society : primitive
almost universally the children of savages are contented and well behaved — W.D.Wallis
b. : one who acts with cruelty or ferocity : a brutal or inhumane person
a savage who murdered in cold blood
c. : a completely undisciplined or unmannerly person
the disagreeable person, however cultured, is a savage — F.A.Swinnerton
3. : a wild or ferocious animal ; especially : a vicious horse
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to make savage
a solvent to the bitterness that had savaged him — Angus Mowat
2. : to attack or treat violently or brutally
a plump young man whose bare toes in their sandals must have been cruelly savaged in the crowd — Alan Moorehead
the ugly habit of savaging mercilessly those who have somehow raised his dander — Times Literary Supplement
3. of an animal : to bite or trample furiously
his horse must have gone crazy, thrown him and savaged him on the ground — Robert Graves
set up an irritation which started the dog savaging itself — Veterinary Record