ENGLISH
REFERENCE

feral

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈfɛɹəɫ// UK //fˈɛɹəl// fer·al Informal Slang

adj. behaving in a wild, uncontrolled, or messy way. While it usually describes animals that live in the wild, people use it now to describe someone acting crazy or chaotic.

adj. existing in a wild or untamed state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication. In contemporary informal usage, it describes behavior that is uninhibited, chaotic, or intentionally rejecting social norms.


SIMPLE

The cat went feral after living in the woods for a year.

CONTEXTUAL

After three days of camping in the rain without a shower, the group started to look and act a bit feral.

COMPLEX

The documentary explores how domestic pigs can become feral within a single generation when released into an environment where they must forage and defend themselves against natural predators.

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

Etymology 3

Homophone.

Usage

Often used attributively before a noun; in slang contexts, it frequently follows a linking verb like 'go' or 'be'.

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