Meaning & use
wild animal
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Meanings
nouncountable
an animal that lives and survives in nature, not kept or fed by people.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a wild animal' or 'wild animals'.
Patterns
- a wild animal
- wild animals
- in the wild
Lions and elephants are wild animals that live in the African savanna.
You should never try to feed a wild animal in the park.
The documentary shows how wild animals find food in winter.
nouncountablefigurativedisapproving
a person who behaves in a rough, uncontrolled, or aggressive way.
Grammar: Figurative and usually disapproving; often used humorously about children or fans.
Patterns
- like a wild animal
- behave like a wild animal
The fans rushed the stage like wild animals.
He ate his dinner like a wild animal, without using any cutlery.
Word forms
| plural | wild animals |
|---|
Common combinations
- wild animal park
- We spent the day at a wild animal park.
- wild animal rescue
- She volunteers at a wild animal rescue center.
- protect wild animals
- New laws were passed to protect wild animals.
- a wild animal in captivity
- A wild animal in captivity often behaves differently.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wildlife
- Wildlife means all wild animals and plants together; it is uncountable and not used for one creature.
- beast
- Beast is a more literary or old-fashioned word for a wild animal, often a large or dangerous one.
- creature
- Creature can mean any animal, wild or not; it is less specific than 'wild animal'.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: wild animal or wilderness? wild animal or tame animal?
wild animal vs wilderness
Wilderness is a wild natural area, not an animal.
wild animal vs tame animal
A tame animal is used to people and not dangerous; it is the opposite of a wild animal.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'wild animal' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 is correct because a wild animal can be kept in a zoo, though it is not domesticated. Option 1 is wrong because 'many' needs the plural 'wild animals'. Option 2 is wrong because a wild animal is not normally a pet. Option 3 is wrong because pet shops sell domestic animals, not wild ones.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wild animal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.