Definition of "savage"
savage
adjective
comparative more savage, superlative most savage
Quotations
I obſerv'd a Place where there had been a Fire made, and a Circle dug in the Earth, like a Cockpit, where it is ſuppoſed the Savage Wretches had ſat down to their inhumane Feaſtings upon the Bodies of their Fellow-Creatures.
1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, pages 194–195
It is so absurd to advance into the presence of savage royalty after the fashion of an Irishman driving a pig to market, for that is what we looked like, and the idea nearly made me burst out laughing then and there.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887
Brutal, vicious, or merciless.
Quotations
Fear of their cargo bred a savage cruelty into the crew. One captain, to strike terror into the rest, killed a slave and dividing heart, liver and entrails into 300 pieces made each of the slaves eat one, threatening those who refused with the same torture. Such incidents were not rare.
1963, C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins, 2nd Revised edition, page 9
Mr. Lightfoot, 31, returned to the witness stand for the second day and continued a harrowing, first-person account of the savage beating that he received in July 2012, when, Bronx prosecutors contend, the officers decided to teach him a lesson.
2016 April 18, Winnie Hu with Kate Pastor, “Ex-Inmate Describes Rikers Beating as ‘Open Season’ for Guards on Trial”, in The New York Times
The fight is not all one-sided. Lion is taking a savage beating as the two flagships trade body blows almost independent of the furious carronade going on behind them.
2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 14:13 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original on 4 August 2022
(slang) Of an insult or person: disrespectful and audacious in a hilarious way.
Quotations
But now Gen Z is coming for them and it's absolutely savage. TikTok comment sections like this one have revealed the fact no one likes millennials and their endless Harry Potter references.
2020 June 18, Diyora Shadijanova, “What Gen Z'ers Really Think of Millennials”, in VICE, archived from the original on 2023-05-12
This match continued the theme from last month as the two cousins started off with heated trash talk. Roman Reigns telling Jey Uso "I will end you..." in the same tone a parent tells their kid "I'm warning you..." was so savage.
2020 October 25, Alfred Konuwa, “WWE Hell In A Cell 2020 Results: Winners, News And Notes On October 25”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes Media, archived from the original on 2020-11-01
A savage new song by Shakira in which the Colombian star, philanthropist and committed believer in the veracity of hips ridicules her former partner Gerard Piqué has logged more than 63m YouTube views in 24 hours, making it the most watched new Latin song in the platform's history.
2023 January 13, Sam Jones, “'Out of your league': Shakira song mocking ex Gerard Piqué breaks YouTube record”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, archived from the original on 2023-05-12
(UK, slang) Unpleasant or unfair.
(US, slang) Severe, rude, aggressive.
noun
plural savages
(derogatory) A person not living in a civilization; a barbarian.
Quotations
'Well, my lord, I don't know,' said Freeman with a sort of jolly sneer; 'we have been dining with the savages.''They are not savages, Freeman.''Well, my lord, they have not much more clothes, anyhow; and as for knives and forks, there is not such a thing known.'
1847, Benjamin Disraeli, Tancred: or The New Crusade, page 251
In the year 1879, when the Utes succeeded in getting some United States troops into what was afterwards known as Thornburg's "rat hole," several mounted couriers succeeded in slipping through the circling line of savages.
1901 July 19, “Horses in time of War”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 10, page 296
(figuratively) An aggressively defiant person.
(slang) Someone who acts in an audacious and hilarious manner.
Quotations
It was on Dec. 29 that TikTok star Liv Pearsall posted a video titled "7 Times Elmo Was an Absolute Savage," in which the star with more than 2.7 million followers lip-synced to various Elmo-ments.
2022 January 6, Kalhan Rosenblatt, “Elmo's feud with a pet rock has consumed the internet”, in NBC News, archived from the original on 2023-05-29
"Sometimes they would stay up while she'd have a whole new guy in a relationship," she wrote in a comment. "LMFAO she is a savage."
2022 August 31, Emily Lefroy, “I ’hard launch’ my first dates on Instagram: Confident or unhinged?”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, archived from the original on 2022-10-05
verb
third-person singular simple present savages, present participle savaging, simple past and past participle savaged
To attack or assault someone or something ferociously or without restraint.
Quotations
But that was only the start, because the Fletchers - (obviously) carrying two torpedo launchers - were only launching half-salvos, so one full wave of torpedoes had driven off the cruisers after having savaged the destroyers, aaand then it was a case of, well, here come twenty-five destroyers, here comes[sic] two hundred and fifty torpedoes, hello Japanese battleships, dodge this!
2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 26:48 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 20 July 2022
(figuratively) To criticise vehemently.
Quotations
British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.
2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848