feral

UK/ˈfɛɹəl/US/ˈfɛɹəl/

adjectiveB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,044 of 15,258leans written

Feral means wild, though descended from tame animals. A feral cat, feral pigeons, gone feral.

The distinction from wild matters: a feral cat is a domestic cat living wild, and its ancestors were somebody's pets. Feral populations do enormous damage where they are not native, and cats are among the worst offenders for wildlife.

Definitions of feral

1adjectiveferalWild, though descended from tame animals.B2+
“Feral goats roam the island, eating every plant they can reach.”

feral is a state.

Where it comes from

Latin ferus means wild, from a root meaning a wild beast. Fierce and ferocity are relatives.

Proto-Indo-European
*ǵʰwer-
Latin
ferālis
Middle French
féral
English, today
feral

From fera + -al or ferus + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Latin ferālis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Pets & Pet Care

Practise this word

feral in the wild

Escaped domestic pigeons are the origin of feral pigeons around the world.
Rock dove
Many domestic birds have been lost, escaped or been released over the years, and these gave rise to populations of feral pigeons.
Feral pigeon
A feral (; from Latin fera 'a wild beast') animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals.
Feral
The removal of feral species is a major focus of island restoration.
Feral
Of the 700 million cats in the world, an estimated 480 million are feral.
Feral cat

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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