FERAL

feral, ferine, savage

(adjective) wild and menacing; “a pack of feral dogs”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

feral (comparative more feral, superlative most feral)

Wild, untamed, especially of domesticated animals having returned to the wild.

(of a person) Contemptible, unruly, misbehaved.

Noun

feral (plural ferals)

A domesticated animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living independently of humans.

(Australia, colloquial) A contemptible young person, a lout, a person who behaves wildly.

(Australia, colloquial) A person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle.

(furry subculture) A character in furry art or literature which has the physical characteristics (body) of a regular animal (typically quadripedal), that may or may not be able to communicate with humans or anthros (contrasts anthro)

Usage notes

• Feral in the furry-related sense can refer to both regular animals as well as characters which have the bodies of regular animals but the intelligence of a human. Intelligent feral characters are often depicted as speaking with other characters, but may only be able to speak with other ferals and not humans or anthros due to a language barrier.

Anagrams

• flare

Source: Wiktionary


Fe"ral, a. Etym: [L. ferus. See Fierce.] (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Definition: Wild; untamed; ferine; not domesticated; -- said of beasts, birds, and plants. feral child, not raised by humans

Fe"ral, a. Etym: [L. feralis, belonging to the dead.]

Definition: Funereal; deadly; fatal; dangerous. [R.] "Feral accidents." Burton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

3 April 2025

WHOLE

(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

As of 2019, Starbucks opens a new store every 15 hours in China. The coffee chain has grown by 700% over the past decade.

coffee icon