SAVAGERY Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

savagery

noun

ˈsa-vij-rē

Definition of savagery

as in cruelty

disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others a study of the savagery shown by soldiers in wartime

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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 savagery When the Selma marchers faced down snarling dogs and baton-wielding police in 1965, the contrast between their passive resistance and the Jim Crow officials’ savagery echoed the caning of a century before. — Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026 While our money would be on The Last Son of Krypton in a main card matchup, Lobo fights dirty with a level of primal savagery that just might put the Big Blue Boy Scout and his cousin down for a few rounds. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 6 June 2026 The Battle of Shiloh in southwest Tennessee on April 6-7, 1862, brought home the savagery of the war as there were more than 24,000 casualties on both sides. — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026 Adapted for television by Adolescence co-creator, Emmy winner Jack Thorne, in Lord of the Flies, innocence descends into savagery when a group of English schoolboys becomes desert island castaways. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 6 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for savagery

Recent Examples of Synonyms for savagery

Noun

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Cruz on his own recognizance June 4 following his arraignment on felony animal cruelty charges in Sacramento Superior Court.

— Velvet Wu July 1, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026
At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.

— Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 1 July 2026

Definition of cruelty

Noun

Lee learned much about the systemic oppression that Black Americans faced from his first student, Jesse Glover, who had been a victim of police brutality.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
These early precedents in fictional brutality also weaken Thomson’s next point, about literature’s superiority.

— Michael O’Donnell, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026

Definition of brutality

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savageness

savagery

savages

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“Savagery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savagery. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of savagery

noun

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