/ˈfɛɹ.əl/, /ˈfɪə.ɹəl/
OriginFrom Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) + -al or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis.
- Wild; untamed.
“1876 Statistical, Descriptive, And Historical Account Of The North-Western Provinces Of India. Allahabad: North-Western Provinces' Government Press 1876. p XIV, Agra Division
The spotted deer, in a tr”
“Among the ensemble’s strange, outmoded, “original” instruments — the feral horns, sour violins, wooden flutes, cellos without endpins — she seemed right at home, despite her Broadway provenance.”
- Of an animal, wild but descended from domestic or captive ancestors; thus, in the wild, although not necessarily of the wild type.
“In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.”
“This subject has been ably treated by several authors, and I shall, in my future work, discuss some of the checks at considerable length, more especially in regard to the feral animals of South Americ”
“The Guinea fowl has become thoroughly feral in Jamaica and in St. Domingo, and has diminished in size; the legs are black, whereas the legs of the aboriginal African bird are said to be grey. This sma”
- Of a person, contemptible; unruly; misbehaved.
“This consideration doth afford us no small light in conceiving and judging the manners and qualifications of persons, as hath been observed, that those that have impressions of grapes, or signals of v”
“Palmistry . . .The figure of a semicircle in the quadrangle of the hand, notes a feral shedder of human blood, an implacable merciless spirit....
Little puncts disorderly in the natural line, shew the”
- InternetBehaving in an out-of-control way due to enthrallment with a certain thought, behavior, person, etc.
“Miners fans have been going absolutely feral over you, [and] you're also disgustingly talented. People want you to play for them! You had Canadians bitching about you being American born the first tim”
- not-comparable, slangThat is a feral character.
- Deadly, fatal.
- Of or pertaining to the dead, funereal.
- A domesticated (non-human) animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living independently of humans.
“Although it is not difficult to induce domestic pigeons to nest in boxes fixed to trees, London′s ferals are not yet acclimatized to arboreal holes.”
“Traffic, abuse, inhumane traps, and accidental poisoning are other hazards ferals must face.[…]In England one gamekeeper claimed to have killed over three hundred ferals, while another brought home pe”
“You trap ferals, neuter them, and give them their rabies shot. Maybe distemper.”
- Australia, colloquialA contemptible young person, a lout, a person who behaves wildly.
- Australia, colloquialA person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle.
“The intolerance which was directed towards us during the early years has now shifted to ‘the ferals’ who embrace a new version of nonconformist behaviour that even some of us in their parent′s generat”
“A pod of ferals was moving towards the exit, a half-dozen soap-shy, low-tech, bush-dwelling hippies.”
“It′s the rootlessness of the ferals that people don′t seem to trust; their claims of connectedness to all wild places touches a nerve. Even residents of Maydena who want to see the Florentine protecte”
- slangA furry character in art or literature which has the appearance of a regular animal (typically quadrupedal), that may or may not be able to communicate with humans or "anthros".
“The story is about a group of ferals which have to explore the ruins of society after the humans die out.”
- alt-of, misspellingMisspelling of ferrule.
Formsmore feral(comparative) · most feral(superlative) · ferals(plural)