savage
/'sævidʤ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Extremely violent or fierce: Describes actions or behaviors characterized by intense, uncontrolled aggression or brutality.
- Uncivilized or primitive: Refers to people, societies, or conditions considered to be in a wild, undeveloped state, lacking civilization.
- Cruel or vicious: Describes a person or action that is deliberately harsh, brutal, and intended to cause suffering.
Noun:
- A member of an uncivilized people: A person belonging to a society or tribe perceived as primitive or lacking complex social organization.
- A cruel or brutal person: An individual who behaves with extreme violence, cruelty, or lack of restraint.
Verb:
- To criticize harshly or violently: To attack someone verbally in a very severe, brutal, or unsparing manner.
- To attack brutally and fiercely: To physically assault with great violence and ferocity.
Examples of Usage
Adjective:
- The explorers faced a savage storm at sea.
- The ancient tribe was known for its savage rituals.
- He was subjected to a savage attack by his critics.
Noun:
- The colonizers wrongly labeled the indigenous inhabitants as savages.
- Only a savage would treat an animal with such cruelty.
Verb:
- The film was savaged by the reviewers for its poor plot.
- The lion savaged its prey.
Advanced Usage
- "Savage irony": A form of irony that is particularly harsh, biting, or cruel in its effect.
- The savage irony of the situation was not lost on anyone.
- "Savage beauty": A phrase describing something that is beautiful in a wild, untamed, or fierce way.
- They were awed by the savage beauty of the mountain landscape.
Variants and Related Words
- Savagely (adverb): In a fierce, brutal, or violent manner.
- He was savagely beaten.
- Savagery (noun): The quality of being savage; brutal violence.
- The savagery of the war was horrifying.
Synonyms
- Adjective: Fierce, ferocious, brutal, barbaric, vicious, cruel, wild, uncivilized.
- Noun: Barbarian, brute, beast.
- Verb: Lambaste, crucify, tear apart, maul, attack.
Related Phrasal Verbs
(Note: "Savage" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its verbal use is typically transitive.)
Related Idioms
- "A savage blow": A very harsh or damaging action or piece of news.
- The sudden job loss was a savage blow to the family.
- "Cut and savage": (Less common) To criticize in a very harsh and destructive way.
- The editorial was designed to cut and savage the politician's reputation.
Adjective
- marked by extreme and violent energy
- a ferocious beating
- fierce fighting
- a furious battle
- without civilizing influences
- barbarian invaders
- barbaric practices
- a savage people
- fighting is crude and uncivilized especially if the weapons are efficient-Margaret Meade
- wild tribes
- wild and menacing
- a pack of feral dogs
- (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
- a barbarous crime
- brutal beatings
- cruel tortures
- Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks
- a savage slap
- vicious kicks
Noun
- a cruelly rapacious person
- a member of an uncivilized people
Verb
- criticize harshly or violently
- The press savaged the new President
- The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage
- attack brutally and fiercely