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savagely

 - 4 dictionary results

sav⋅age

  [sav-ij] adjective, noun, verb, -aged, -ag⋅ing.
Use savagely in a Sentence
–adjective
1. fierce, ferocious, or cruel; untamed: savage beasts.
2. uncivilized; barbarous: savage tribes.
3. enraged or furiously angry, as a person.
4. unpolished; rude: savage manners.
5. wild or rugged, as country or scenery: savage wilderness.
6. Archaic. uncultivated; growing wild.
–noun
7. an uncivilized human being.
8. a fierce, brutal, or cruel person.
9. a rude, boorish person.
10. a member of a preliterate society.
–verb (used with object)
11. to assault and maul by biting, rending, goring, etc.; tear at or mutilate: numerous sheep savaged by dogs.
12. to attack or criticize thoroughly or remorselessly; excoriate: a play savaged by the critics.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME savage, sauvage (adj.) < MF sauvage, salvage < ML salvāticus, for L silvāticus, equiv. to silv(a) woods + -āticus adj. suffix

Related forms:
sav⋅age⋅ly, adverb
sav⋅age⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. wild, feral, fell; bloodthirsty. See cruel. 2. wild. 3. infuriated. 5. rough, uncultivated. 9. churl, oaf.

Antonyms:
1. mild. 2, 4. cultured. 5. cultivated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To savagely
sav·age   (sāv'ĭj)   
adj.  

  1. Not domesticated or cultivated; wild: savage beasts of the jungle.

  2. Not civilized; barbaric: a people living in a savage state.

  3. Ferocious; fierce: in a savage temper.

  4. Vicious or merciless; brutal: a savage attack on a political rival. See Synonyms at cruel.

  5. Lacking polish or manners; rude.

n.  

  1. A person regarded as primitive or uncivilized.

  2. A person regarded as brutal, fierce, or vicious.

tr.v.   sav·aged, sav·ag·ing, sav·ag·es

  1. To assault ferociously.

  2. To attack without restraint or pity: The critics savaged the new play.


[Middle English sauvage, from Old French, from Late Latin salvāticus, from Latin silvāticus, of the woods, wild, from silva, forest.]
sav'age·ly adv., sav'age·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
savage

  1. mod.
    excellent. (Collegiate.) : Man, Fred is a totally savage guy.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

savage  (adj.)
c.1300, "wild, undomesticated, untamed" (of animals and places), from O.Fr. sauvage, salvage "wild, savage, untamed," from L.L. salvaticus, alteration of silvaticus "wild," lit. "of the woods," from silva "forest, grove." Of persons, the meaning "reckless, ungovernable" is attested from c.1400l earlier in sense "indomitable, valiant" (c.1300). Implications of ferocity are attested from 1579, earlier of animals (1407). The noun meaning "wild person" is from 1588; the verb meaning "to tear with the teeth, maul" is from 1880.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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