1
as in wild
living outdoors without taming or domestication by humans
animal experts discourage homeowners from trying to adopt feral animals as pets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brute
having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal
a novel that reveals just how thin the veneer of civilization is and how feral we are at bottom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in animal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of feral
Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
The gamine Ferran has an extraordinary feral, changeling quality.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025
Maddie is a feral woman with a lot of gumption, who is a fighter and a survivor.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2025
The final regulations were amended after some feral (outdoor) cat owners expressed concerns about the new rules.
—Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feral
Adjective
By turns elegant and feral, there’s a sense these dancers have each other’s backs, even as Schultz breaks away to wash himself clean.
—Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
The gamine Ferran has an extraordinary feral, changeling quality.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025
Maddie is a feral woman with a lot of gumption, who is a fighter and a survivor.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2025
The final regulations were amended after some feral (outdoor) cat owners expressed concerns about the new rules.
—Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feral
Adjective
-
Wildlife officials later identified the animal as a marbled cat, a mysterious wild cat rarely seen on trail cameras or in-person.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
-
Sure enough, it’s filled with campy setpieces and wild gore that plays well to an audience looking for a wild time.—
William Earl,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Beyond that, Hamas’ only recourse to staying in power is brute force.—
TIME,
TIME,
23 Mar. 2025
-
Rather than raids and brute force, the Trump administration must work with Congress on immigration reforms that benefit all Americans.—
Russel Honoré,
Newsweek,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Trump has not previously been counted among the zoo’s critics, who tend to lament the life of captivity suffered by its animals, not their potential indoctrination.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
6 Apr. 2025
-
From more types of materials players could use to build and decorate to more animals that inhabited the world to more biomes for players to explore.—
Issy van der Velde,
Rolling Stone,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway fared better than the S & P 500 in a brutal week as investors embraced the safety of a cash-rich conglomerate while President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs wreaked havoc on Wall Street.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2025
-
With six games remaining in the regular season — and five of them coming in a brutal seven-day span — the Knicks are suddenly getting healthy at a time when workload management becomes a daily dilemma.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Catch up quick: The legendary little beastie first came to New Orleans by way of the Terrebonne Parish animal shelter.—
Chelsea Brasted,
Axios,
11 Feb. 2025
-
But regardless of whether the beastie predicts six more weeks of winter or holds out the promise of an early Spring, next week should bring a respite of warmer weather.—
Todd Karpovich,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
-
As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
Noun
-
Wildlife officials shared photos of the critter to Facebook on March 14.—
Brooke Baitinger,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Its feeding method involves hanging out at the ocean floor and waiting for crustaceans and other small critters to pass by for easy snacking.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
On the way, Elliott hits a baby unicorn with his rental SUV, wounding it, and Ridley touches its horn and forms a trippy spiritual connection with the creature.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Where do the natural wonders of America’s wildlife in its mute creatures—the tortoises, birds, bumblebees, flowers, fish and forests—fit in the fiscal tug-of-war amid current political winners and losers?—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Feral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feral. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share