savagery

noun

sav·​age·​ry ˈsa-vi-jə-rē 

ˈsa-vij-rē

plural savageries

1

a

: the quality of being savage

b

: an act of cruelty or violence

2

: an uncivilized state

Synonyms

• atrociousness
• atrocity
• barbarity
• barbarousness
• brutality
• cruelness
• cruelty
• fiendishness
• heartlessness
• inhumanity
• inhumanness
• sadism
• savageness
• truculence
• viciousness
• wantonness

Examples of savagery in a Sentence

The savagery of the attack was horrifying.

an act of pure savagery

the savageries committed by the soldiers

Recent Examples on the Web

First of all, of course, the savagery of the crime. —Hazlitt, 26 Nov. 2024

When the cop asks why the yakuza would do that, Suzie points to their general savagery. —Chris Klimek, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2024

Whatever Pratt imagined for Indian schools as an answer to Indian persecution, the schools became, in the early decades especially, places of repression, punishment, and occasional savagery. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2024

Golding's singular debut novel, with its group of prepubescent boys stranded on an uninhabited island, highlights the delicate balance between civilization and savagery. —The Week Us, theweek, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

savagery

noun

sav·​age·​ry ˈsav-ij-(ə-)rē 

plural savageries

1

: savage disposition or action : cruelty

2

: the state of being savage