feral
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɛrəl/
ipa: /ˈfɪərəl/
rhymes: -ɛɹəl
rhymes: -ɪəɹəl
homophone: ferrule
homophone: ferryl
homophone: Farrell stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
Forms: form: more feral
form: most feral
Etymology: From Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) + -al or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis.
Senses: examples: text: 1876 Statistical, Descriptive, And Historical Account Of The North-Western Provinces Of India. Allahabad: North-Western Provinces' Government Press 1876. p XIV, Agra Division
The spotted deer, in a truly feral state, has very much the same distribution in Bundelkhand as the sambar, but it is more numerous.
text: Among the ensemble’s strange, outmoded, “original” instruments — the feral horns, sour violins, wooden flutes, cellos without endpins — she seemed right at home, despite her Broadway provenance.
ref: 2007 July 8, Jesse Green, “Let Her Entertain You. Please!”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2020:
synonyms: ferine
glosses: Wild; untamed.
examples: text: In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.
text: This subject has been ably treated by several authors, and I shall, in my future work, discuss some of the checks at considerable length, more especially in regard to the feral animals of South America.
ref: 1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species:
text: The Guinea fowl has become thoroughly feral in Jamaica and in St. Domingo, and has diminished in size; the legs are black, whereas the legs of the aboriginal African bird are said to be grey. This small change is worth notice on account of the often-repeated statement that all feral animals invariably revert in every character to their original type.
ref: 1884 Charles Darwin The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication 2nd ed 1884 Chapter 8, p. 310
text: It owes its existence to a feral culture of internet goblins who sentence-mixed the same few janky cutscenes for years.
ref: 2023 July 13, Harvey Randall, “The internet shitposted too close to the sun, and now we're getting a spiritual successor to the most cursed Zelda games of all time”, in PC Gamer:
synonyms: ferine
glosses: Wild; untamed.
Of an animal, wild but descended from domestic or captive ancestors; thus, in the wild, although not necessarily of the wild type.
examples: text: This consideration doth afford us no small light in conceiving and judging the manners and qualifications of persons, as hath been observed, that those that have impressions of grapes, or signals of vines on their bodies, are addicted to drunkenness, those who have resemblance on their bodies, or in their countenances of a boar, or any feral creature, participate in the same feral, wild and unmannerly deportment; those having any similitude of a hare, are fearful; of a fox, are cunning; of a wolf, cruel; and so of all other resemblances: and, as from these resemblances, the manners are conjectured, so likewise future events, and fortune good or bad, as shall be noted in due place. Nature is strange in many of her operations; but this is most certain, the party retains the qualities of that animal or thing to which he hath a resemblance.
ref: 1792 The Opinion of Naturalists Concerning the Moles as they are Caused in Women's Pregnancy. The Conjuror's Magazine for August 1792. p.130
text: Palmistry . . .The figure of a semicircle in the quadrangle of the hand, notes a feral shedder of human blood, an implacable merciless spirit....
Little puncts disorderly in the natural line, shew the worst of manners, and a feral beast-like nature.
ref: The Conjuror's Magazine for August 1792. p.137
synonyms: ferine
glosses: Wild; untamed.
Of a person, contemptible; unruly; misbehaved.
examples: text: Miners fans have been going absolutely feral over you, [and] you're also disgustingly talented. People want you to play for them! You had Canadians bitching about you being American born the first time you played for Team USA.
ref: 2022 February 15, Stephanie Hoyt, The Magic Between, NineStar Press, →ISBN:
synonyms: ferine
glosses: Wild; untamed.
Behaving in an out-of-control way due to enthrallment with a certain thought, behavior, person, etc.
topics: lifestyle
synonyms: ferine
glosses: Wild; untamed.
That is a feral character.
antonyms: anthro
furry
Derived terms: feral cat
feral child
ferality
feralization
feralize
ferally
feralness
feral pigeon
hyperferal
nonferal
semiferal
superferal