Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FERAL

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

"FERAL" Meaning: Something feral is wild, threatening, and savage. Pronunciation: Many ways are correct. I prefer "FEAR ull." Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a feral glance." 2. After a linking verb, as in "The glance was feral.") Other forms: ferality How to use it: Although you often talk about animals that are literally feral, like feral dogs or feral cats, let's focus on the figurative usage. "Feral" is a good choice when "brutal" or "savage" seems too abstract--that is, "feral" helps you make your point more concretely, since for most listeners it conjures a mental image of a wild, hissing cat or a growling, biting dog. So, talk about the feral elements in human nature, feral stares and feral growls, feral posture or a feral style of verbal attack, feral business practices, a feral person (like a feral prisoner, a feral child, a feral competitor, or a feral enemy) and so on. The piercing, feral stares from the opposing team were a little unnerving.  Have you ever tried to put socks and shoes onto a toddler who's suddenly devolved into some kind of feral being? The struggle is real. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "feral" means when you can explain it without saying "menacing" or "wild." Think of a time you noticed people acting like animals, and fill in the blanks: "(A particular situation or event) turned (a certain group of people) into feral beasts." Example: "Black Friday sales turn normal shoppers into feral beasts." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words:  We're playing with clichés this month, examining the origins of some colorful ones. I’ll give you a cliché (some of which you might also call a proverb and/or an idiom) and pose a multiple-choice question about its origin. (I used this nifty book as a reference!) Yesterday's question: To “cross the Rubicon” is to agree to a commitment that you can’t go back on. Was it Washington, Napoleon, or Caesar who crossed the original Rubicon (a river) and started a war? Answer: Caesar. It went down in 49 B.C. Try this one today: Something “dirt cheap” is really, really cheap. Have we been throwing that cliché around since 1421, 1621, or 1821? A Point Well Made: Pearl S. Buck: "Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied." 1. The opposite of FERAL is A. SMART B. TAME C. SAFE 2. With a feral _____, she regained control of the ball. A. maneuver B. dexterity C. snarl Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C Exploring the archives: Today's "feral" gives a distinctive bite to your description of anything brutal or savage. What if you need to be more lighthearted and describe something fierce and wild with a cute-sounding word instead? You might pick "f___ouche." Could you recall that word and its other meaning?