From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishferalfer‧al /ˈferəl, ˈfɪərəl $ ˈferəl, ˈfɪrəl/ adjective 1 HBAferal animals used to live with humans but have become wild feral cats2 feral children or young people behave badly in public and commit crimes, because they are not controlled by anyone and have no respect for authority The riots were blamed on feral teenagers.
Examples from the Corpus
feral• An Inside Job A local authority was called out to a feral cat problem at the local prison.• Interbreeding with feral cats is probably the biggest threat to the wildcat.• a pack of feral dogs• His voice had moved down the register until it came forth as a kind of feral growl.• The feral kid, by the way, is now said to be working as a jeweler in downtown Sydney.• He had light brown hair and a feral quality about him that made people do what he wanted.• Martin, eyes glaring and lips drawn back in a feral snarl.• Yes, I know a large chunk of the child population today is virtually feral, untended and untutored by responsible parents.• A feral world of backbiting malice, veiled threats, liars and blackmailers.Origin feral (1600-1700) Medieval Latin feralis, from Latin fera “wild animal” 