Meaning & use
savage
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Extremely cruel, violent and without restraint.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a savage attack.
Patterns
- a savage attack
- a savage beating
Police described the assault as savage.
A savage storm tore the roof off the barn.
The dog gave a savage snarl.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Very harsh and severe in criticism or effect.
Grammar: Describes criticism, cuts or reviews.
Patterns
- a savage review
- savage cuts
The critic wrote a savage review of the play.
The company announced savage cuts to its budget.
His savage wit made people nervous.
adjectivecomparableslang
Impressively bold or cool, in a playful way.
Grammar: Informal, mostly used by younger speakers; often said alone as a comment.
Her comeback was savage and the whole room laughed.
That was a savage move by the goalkeeper.
He posted a savage reply to the troll.
verbtransitive
To attack someone or something fiercely, or to criticize very harshly.
Grammar: Takes an object: the dog savaged the sheep.
Patterns
- savage someone
- be savaged by someone
A wolf savaged the sheep in the night.
The newspaper savaged the new policy.
The film was savaged by critics.
Word forms
| comparative | more savage |
|---|---|
| superlative | most savage |
| third person singular | savages |
| past tense | savaged |
| past participle | savaged |
| -ing form | savaging |
Common combinations
- savage attack
- The savage attack shocked the village.
- savage criticism
- He faced savage criticism online.
- savage cuts
- Savage cuts to funding closed the library.
- savagely beaten
- The prisoner was savagely beaten.
- savage reply
- Her savage reply silenced the room.
Synonyms and how they differ
- brutal
- Brutal stresses cruelty and lack of feeling, while savage also suggests wildness.
- ferocious
- Ferocious describes fierce, aggressive force and can apply to animals as well as people.
- harsh
- Harsh is milder and may simply mean unkind or severe, without violence.
- vicious
- Vicious suggests deliberate cruelty or spite, more personal than savage.
Opposites
Word family
- savagely adverb
- in a violent or harsh way
- savagery noun
- extreme cruelty
- savageness noun
- the quality of being savage
Commonly confused: savage or salvage?
savage vs salvage
Salvage means to rescue or save something from loss, while savage means violent or to attack.
Practice
The review was so ____ that the author refused to read another.
Choose one answer.
A harsh review is savage. Salvage is a tempting lookalike but is a verb meaning to rescue.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “savage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.