feral man
- noun
- /ˈfɛrəl mæn/
:
hombre salvaje
- The villagers were shocked to find a feral man living alone in the forest for decades.
Examples
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The story of a feral man surviving without human contact fascinated anthropologists.
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Many stories feature a feral man raised by wolves.
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He behaved more like a wild animal than a human, leading people to call him a feral man.
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The feral man lived alone in the woods.
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The story of a feral man surviving without human contact fascinated anthropologists.
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The villagers were shocked to find a feral man living alone in the forest for decades.
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He behaved more like a wild animal than a human, leading people to call him a feral man.
Synonyms
15
7.5
A person who lives apart from others and acts like an animal
4
8.8
A person who lives alone in the wild away from towns
A person who grows up alone in the wild and does not learn normal human behavior
How Socialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'feral' (reverted to a wild state) with 'man' (adult human): a B1 learner who knows both words can infer 'a wild/unsocialized man'. Although 'feral' is more commonly used for animals, the adjective+noun composition and the clear metaphorical extension make the overall sense predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Feral man comes from the word feral, which was used for animals that became wild again, and people began to use it for humans who seem like those wild animals. So feral man means 'a man who has grown up without contact with other people and behaves like a wild animal'.