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

Hamas’s savagery was backed by an aggressive Iran that is supported by the authoritarian axis; as such, October 7 was a direct assault on the free world. —Ari Shavit, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2024

The point of all that money, like of the attack on Porter, has been to draw attention to Silicon Valley’s financial might—and to prove that its leaders are capable of political savagery in order to protect their interests. —Charles Duhigg, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

There is no real bloodshed in Red Rooms, but there is a kind of spiritual savagery. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024

Of course this hardly justifies the savagery that Russia has abetted in fighting over the Donbas. —Robert David English, Foreign Affairs, 10 Mar. 2017

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