feral
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɛrəl/
ipa: /ˈfɪərəl/
rhymes: -ɛɹəl
rhymes: -ɪəɹəl
homophone: ferrule
homophone: ferryl
homophone: Farrell stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
Forms: form: ferals
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: Although it is not difficult to induce domestic pigeons to nest in boxes fixed to trees, London′s ferals are not yet acclimatized to arboreal holes.
ref: 1960 May 19, “Notes and Comments: No homes for the pigeons”, in New Scientist, page 1261:
text: Traffic, abuse, inhumane traps, and accidental poisoning are other hazards ferals must face.[…]In England one gamekeeper claimed to have killed over three hundred ferals, while another brought home pelts to his wife so that she could design rugs from cat skins as a source of secondary income.
ref: 2005, Alexandra Powe Allred, Cats' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities, unnumbered page:
text: You trap ferals, neuter them, and give them their rabies shot. Maybe distemper.
ref: 2007, Clea Simon, Cries and Whiskers, page 26:
text: If you′ve ever put a saucer of milk out for a hard-luck kitty, or if you′re spending your lunch hour sharing sandwiches with the ferals near your office, this is the chapter for you.
ref: 2011, Gina Spadafori, Paul D. Pion, Cats for Dummies, unnumbered page:
glosses: A domesticated (non-human) animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living independently of humans.
glosses: A contemptible young person, a lout, a person who behaves wildly.
examples: text: The intolerance which was directed towards us during the early years has now shifted to ‘the ferals’ who embrace a new version of nonconformist behaviour that even some of us in their parent′s generation — the Aquarian settlers — don′t like. The ferals are the scapegoats for the drug problems here, and are highly visible since many of them have nowhere to live.
ref: 1995, Bill Metcalf, From Utopian Dreaming to Communal Reality: Cooperative Lifestyles in Australia, page 82:
text: A pod of ferals was moving towards the exit, a half-dozen soap-shy, low-tech, bush-dwelling hippies.
ref: 2002, Shane Maloney, Something Fishy, published 2003, page 208:
text: It′s the rootlessness of the ferals that people don′t seem to trust; their claims of connectedness to all wild places touches a nerve. Even residents of Maydena who want to see the Florentine protected dislike the ratbags′ itinerancy.
ref: 2010, Anna Krien, Into The Woods: The Battle For Tasmania's Forests, page 102:
glosses: A person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle.
examples: text: The story is about a group of ferals which have to explore the ruins of society after the humans die out.
topics: lifestyle
antonyms: anthro
glosses: A furry character in art or literature which has the appearance of a regular animal (typically quadrupedal), that may or may not be able to communicate with humans or "anthros".