Feral Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms feral 1 American [feer-uhl, fer-] / ˈfɪər əl, ˈfɛr- /

adjective

1. existing in a natural state, as animals or plants; not domesticated or cultivated; wild.

2. having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication.

   a pack of feral dogs roaming the woods.

3. of or characteristic of wild animals; ferocious; brutal.

feral 2 American [feer-uhl, fer-] / ˈfɪər əl, ˈfɛr- /

adjective

1. causing death; fatal.

2. funereal; gloomy.

feral 1 British / ˈfɛr-, ˈfɪərəl /

adjective

1. Also: ferine. (of animals and plants) existing in a wild or uncultivated state, esp after being domestic or cultivated

2. Also: ferine. savage; brutal

3. derogatory (of a person) tending to be interested in environmental issues and having a rugged, unkempt appearance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. derogatory a person who displays such tendencies and appearance

2. slang disgusting

3. slang excellent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 feral 2 British / ˈfɛr-, ˈfɪərəl /

adjective

1. astrology associated with death

2. gloomy; funereal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 feral Scientific / fîr′əl,fĕr′- /

1. Existing in a wild or untamed state, either naturally or having returned to such a state from domestication.

Etymology

Origin of feral1

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Medieval Latin, Late Latin ferālis “bestial, wild,” from Latin fer(a) “wild beast” + -ālis -al 1

Origin of feral2

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin fērālis “of the dead, funerary, fatal”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The sweet, slightly feral smell of soil shrugging off ice.

From Salon

For example, non-native feral hogs are now major predators of loggerhead sea turtle eggs along the Georgia coast, USA, while coyotes in eastern North America are expanding onto coastal barrier islands, altering those ecosystems.

From Science Daily

Brat Summer still lives on in its feral children.

From Los Angeles Times

Mitigating, James Scobie KC said his client had been brought up with very little education and had lived "a pretty feral existence from a young age in which fast cars were very much his life".

From BBC

Arnold said none of her other cats has shown the same interest in the Roomba, though a feral orange cat named Garfield that joined the family last year is expressing some curiosity.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ferocious

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.