Feral

//ˈfɛɹ.əl// adj, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Wild; untamed.

    "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."

  2. 2
    Deadly, fatal.
  3. 3
    Wild; untamed.; Of an animal, wild but descended from domestic or captive ancestors; thus, in the wild, although not necessarily of the wild type.

    "In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse."

  4. 4
    Of or pertaining to the dead, funereal.
  5. 5
    Wild; untamed.; Of a person, contemptible; unruly; misbehaved.

    "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."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Wild; untamed.; Behaving in an out-of-control way due to enthrallment with a certain thought, behavior, person, etc. Internet

    "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."

  2. 7
    Wild; untamed.; That is a feral character. not-comparable, slang
Adjective
  1. 1
    wild and menacing wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A domesticated (non-human) animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living independently of humans.

    "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."

  2. 2
    Misspelling of ferrule. alt-of, misspelling
  3. 3
    A contemptible young person, a lout, a person who behaves wildly. Australia, colloquial
  4. 4
    A person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle. Australia, colloquial

    "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."

  5. 5
    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". slang

    "The story is about a group of ferals which have to explore the ruins of society after the humans die out."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

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.

Etymology 3

From Latin fērālis (“funereal”), from Proto-Italic *fēz-ālis, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s (“god, sacred place”).

Etymology 4

Homophone.

Next best steps

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: feral