From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsavagesav‧age1 /ˈsævɪdʒ/ ●○○ adjective 1 violentCRUELVIOLENT very violent or cruel SYN vicious a savage dog a savage murder► see thesaurus at violent2 criticizingCRITICIZE criticizing someone or something very severely OPP mild a savage attack on the government3 severeHARM/BE BAD FOR very severe The government has announced savage cuts in spending. a savage storm4 people [only before noun] old-fashioned not politeSAINSULT an offensive word used to describe people who have a simple traditional way of life → primitivea savage tribe —savagely adverb He was savagely attacked and beaten. —savageness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
savage• Fussell described the war as 'appallingly cruel and savage.'• Daniels was found dead in his apartment, the victim of a savage beating.• At night, packs of savage dogs roamed the streets.• There was savage fighting in and around the eastern border towns.• Police are hunting the savage killer of five men in South London.• savage tax increases• They caught the monkey, but it was so savage that no one could get near enough to feed it.• a savage warriorsavagesavage2 noun [countable] old-fashioned not polite SAINSULTa very offensive word for someone who has a simple traditional way of lifeExamples from the Corpus
savage• The movie reinforces the stereotype of Indians as heathens and savages.savagesavage3 verb [transitive] 1 ATTACKif an animal such as a dog savages someone, it attacks them and injures them badly SYN maul2 CRITICIZEto criticize someone or something very severely SYN attack The prime minister was savaged by the press for failing to take action quickly enough.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
savage• There were some who said he was a man whose children had been savaged by a local hound.• However, Brightman's performance was savaged by critics.• The office door shuddered behind her, and a baying, as of hounds savaging each other, filled the suddenly silent wards.• Time and again he is savaged for speaking on subjects about which his critics claim he knows nothing.• He would insist to his dying day that an arctic wolf had savaged him.• But after critics savaged his second symphony, Elgar became deeply depressed and never wrote another major work.• Stevens was savaged in the sports press after his defeat.• His jibe was greeted with howls of laughter as Mr Smith savaged Mr Major during the emergency debate on the economy.• Troops savaged the weakened enemy army.• Not unnaturally, Ministers have savaged the workings of a property tax ever since rates were abolished.Origin savage1 (1200-1300) Old French sauvage, from Medieval Latin salvaticus, from Latin silvaticus “of the woods, wild”, from silva “forest” 