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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FERAL

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pronounce FERAL:

Either "FEAR ull" or "FAIR ull."

I like "FAIR ull."
Your browser does not support the audio element.

connect this word to others:

Something feral is fierce, ferocious, wild, untamed, undomesticated, or f_r__che.

Can you recall that last synonym? We took it from French, and though it often means "rough and fierce," it can also mean "shy and socially awkward."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)    

definition:

We took the word "feral" from French, where it traces back further to the Latin ferus, meaning "wild." 

We've used "feral" since the year 1659 or so to describe wild, untamed animals and plants (and, sometimes, land and forests). More recently, we've used it to describe wild animals to contrast them with domestic ones: we talk about feral cats, for example, to point out that they're on the loose, not kept as pets.

In other words, feral things are wild, undomesticated, or even fierce or savage.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "Parts of Texas are overrun with feral pigs;" "Australia is home to feral herds of goats;" "These shoppers are no more polite than feral monkeys."

Other forms: 

The noun is "ferality."

how to use it:

The semi-common word "feral" helps you instantly label animals that are wild, free-roaming, and maybe destructive. Or people who act the same.

You might talk literally about feral dogs, cats, or hogs.

Or, you might talk about animals (or people) who go feral, or run feral, or turn feral.

"Feral" is especially great for highlighting the animalistic manners of humans. You might talk about people's feral grins, laughs, growls, stares, lopes, bounds, snatches, speed, or ferocity. Here's Pat Conroy: "But when she danced, it was with a feral grace." And here's Paolo Bacigalupi: "He had the bright, wide eyes and the feral grin of an addict deep in his drugs."

examples:

"The rubbish heap was still there, breeding its multigenerational population of feral dogs."
— Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Gene: An Intimate History, 2016

"[On the show The Walking Dead], Sasha’s gone feral, become the [zombie] killing machine like her brother, but with a ferocity that he never displayed."
— Allen St. John, The Guardian, 23 March 2015

has this page helped you understand "feral"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "feral" without saying "savage" or "ferocious."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(People behaved like animals in some way.) Some have attributed (or misattributed) this feral behavior to (something)."

Example 1: "In Mean Girls, when the juniors start a riot in the hallway, Principal Duvall misattributes this feral behavior to low self-esteem."

Example 2: "Items have been lobbed onstage while various musicians performed live... Some have attributed this feral behavior to a sort of post-pandemic hysteria, the product of being cooped up indoors and deprived of natural socialization for an extended period of time."
— Gabriella Ferrigine, Salon, 3 July 2023




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for April is "Interpret the Titles: Tim Curry Edition!"

Are you a fan of Tim Curry? (How could anyone not be?) Did you know his birthday is in April? I didn't until I looked it up, but it’s the perfect excuse to base this month's game on his filmography. 

I'll give you the title of some show, movie, or video game that Tim Curry has starred in, along with a summary, and I'll challenge you to interpret the title in three different ways.

To see some examples, and some tips if you get stuck, head here!

Try this one today: "Sorted" is a 2000 thriller starring Tim Curry as Damian, a supporting character. Here's the plotline, according to IMDb: "Carl has travelled from Yorkshire to central London to clear up the details of his brother's death. Although a successful attorney, Carl finds that there is another side to his brother's life, into which he willingly gets pulled. A group of techno junkies accept him into their family, as he is the brother of their late friend. With copious [drugs] to aide him, Carl enters the underground all-night rave scene in hopes of discovering the truth to his brother's suspicious death." Empire said the movie had "a refreshing lack of reliance on gangster stereotypes and firearms," and the critic Michael Thomson called it "a feature of mixed fortunes, though [the director] has to be applauded for not rooting his story in either the upper-class past or gangsterland."

1. It's titled "Sorted" because... ?

2. It's titled "Sorted" because... ?

3. It's titled "Sorted" because... ?

To see some possible answers, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. One opposite of FERAL is

A. TAMED.
B. SNEAKY.
C. NOURISHED.

2. A meme jokes: "The term '_____ housewife' implies that there are feral housewives, and now I have a new goal."

A. domestic
B. conventional
C. overburdened




Answers to the review questions:
1. A
2. A

Possible answers to the game question:

1. It's titled "Sorted" because Carl is trying to get his brother's mysterious death sorted out.

2. It's titled "Sorted" because when Carl enters the rave scene, he'll get sorted: it'll become clear whether or not he belongs.

3. It's titled "Sorted" because it's a play on words: the whole drug-riddled, gangster-infested setting in which it takes place is sordid.



a final word:


I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.


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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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