feral
/'fiərəl/ Cách viết khác : (ferine) /'fiərain/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Existing in a wild state, especially after having been domesticated or living in a human environment: Describes an animal that has reverted to a wild state from a condition of domestication or captivity.
- Characteristic of a wild animal; savage or untamed: Can describe behavior that is fierce, brutal, or uncontrolled.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- The city has a problem with feral cats living in the alleys.
- His eyes had a feral intensity that was frightening.
- They captured a feral dog that had been surviving in the forest for years.
Advanced Usage
"Feral child": A human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, showing little or no experience of human care, behavior, or language.
- The story of the feral child fascinated psychologists.
In a figurative sense: Used to describe something that has become wild, overgrown, or uncontrolled in a non-literal way.
- The once-manicured garden had gone completely feral.
Variants and Related Words
- Ferine (adj): An archaic or less common synonym for feral, meaning wild or untamed.
- Feralization (n): The process of becoming feral.
Synonyms
- Wild: Living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.
- Untamed: Not brought under control; wild.
- Savage: Fierce, violent, and uncontrolled.
Antonyms
- Domesticated: (Of an animal) tamed and kept as a pet or on a farm.
- Tame: (Of an animal) not dangerous or frightened of people; domesticated.
- Cultivated: Refined and well-educated.
Related Phrases and Concepts
"Gone feral": A phrase describing a domesticated animal that has escaped and re-adapted to living in the wild.
- The pet rabbit escaped and has gone feral.
Feral population: A group of animals of a domesticated species living and breeding in the wild.
- Australia has large feral populations of camels and water buffalo.
Adjective
- wild and menacing
- a pack of feral dogs