savagery
savagery Lexical Profile
savagery Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The quality of being fierce, violent, and uncontrolled; extreme cruelty or brutality.
"The literary critic noted how the novel explores the thin veneer of civilization that separates humanity from utter savagery."
A cruel, fierce, or brutal act (often used in the plural).
"Historical accounts from the period document the various savageries endured by communities during the prolonged famine and social collapse."
An untamed, uncultivated, or primitive state of nature or society (now dated and often offensive when applied to human cultures).
"Nineteenth-century evolutionary theorists erroneously categorized human societies along a linear scale progressing from savagery to civilization."
Word Nuance & Usage
In older anthropological writing, 'savagery' was used to describe non-industrialized societies; today, applying this sense to human populations or cultures is considered offensive and ethnocentric.
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the 16th century from the adjective 'savage' plus the suffix '-ry', ultimately tracing back via Old French 'sauvage' to Late Latin 'salvaticus' and Classical Latin 'silvaticus' ('of the woods'), from 'silva' ('forest').