Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🐾 Wild, not tame 🐾 A wild animal
feral

feral

4 5.7
An animal that once lived with people but now lives wild
  • noun
  • /ˈfɛrəl/
translation icon : animal asilvestrado
  • Neighborhood Cats is launching the Hurricane Sandy Feral Cat Relief Fund for NYC caretakers who need financial assistance to care for the colonies.
  • a feral cat
  • feral hogs
  • feral goats

Examples

  • So domesticated cats and feral cats are both cats.

  • Rain fills red solo bowls for feral cats in the yard.

  • EHBs that escaped from domestication are considered feral rather than wild.

    Academic text (2004)

  • We peer into cages containing indigenous animals such as the Sinai Fox and the Feral Cat, amid the yapping of wolves and the cry of eagles.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The shelter is working hard to find homes for the many feral cats in the area.

  • Feral feral dogs often band together in packs for safety and food.

  • Feeding feral animals can help them survive, but it is important to not overly rely on humans for food.

Synonyms

wildling
vsferal
8.6

An animal that lives in the wild after living with people

refers only to animals now wild that were formerly domesticated or kept in captivity

Compounds

feral man
9.9

A man who has lived without contact with other people since childhood

feral person
9.9

A person who grows up alone in the wild and does not learn normal human behavior

feral woman
9.9

A woman who lives away from other people and lacks usual social skills

How Wild

wild animal
64 1.0
feral
4 5.7
stray
54 2.5
pet
754 1.0

Surface Forms

feral singular
ferals plural

Etymology

The word feral used as a noun comes from the Latin ferus, which means 'wild' and is the same root as ferocious. So a 'feral' is an animal that once lived with people but now lives in the wild.