feral
Use Feral in a sentence
əl, ˈfɛr- adjective
1.
existing in a natural state, as animals or plants; not domesticated or cultivated; wild.
2.
having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication: a pack of feral dogs roaming the woods.
3.
of or characteristic of wild animals; ferocious; brutal.
Origin:
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin, Late Latin ferālis bestial, wild, equivalent to Latin fer(a) wild beast + -ālis -al1
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin, Late Latin ferālis bestial, wild, equivalent to Latin fer(a) wild beast + -ālis -al1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To feral
00:10
Feral
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
feral1 (ˈfɪərəl, ˈfɛr-) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | Also: ferine (of animals and plants) existing in a wild or uncultivated state, esp after being domestic or cultivated |
| 2. | Also: ferine savage; brutal |
| 3. | derogatory, slang (Austral) (of a person) tending to be interested in environmental issues and having a rugged, unkempt appearance |
| —n | |
| 4. | derogatory, slang (Austral) a person who displays such tendencies and appearance |
| 5. | slang (Austral) disgusting |
| 6. | slang (Austral) excellent |
| [C17: from Medieval Latin ferālis, from Latin fera a wild beast, from ferus savage] | |
| ferity1 | |
| —n | |
| feral2 (ˈfɪərəl, ˈfɛr-) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | astrology associated with death |
| 2. | gloomy; funereal |
| [C17: from Latin fērālis relating to corpses; perhaps related to ferre to carry] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
feral
c.1600, from M.Fr. feral "wild," from L. fera, in phrase fera bestia "wild beast," from ferus "wild" (see fierce).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| feral (fîr'əl, fěr'-) Pronunciation Key
Existing in a wild or untamed state, either naturally or having returned to such a state from domestication. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It was a gang of feral youths, almost none out of their teens, who went on a six-month pogrom.
Feral hogs may be taken in any number throughout the year.
His profile is vaguely feral, in a way that makes him look menacing without making him ugly.
Feral cats nearly invisible and often reviled have prowled into the spotlight.
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