Savagize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make something or someone savage, wild, or ferocious in character or behavior ; to assault or treat with savage violence and cruelty
2. To render savage in nature or disposition ; to maul or attack with savage intensity and viciousness
3. To transform into something savage or fierce ; to attack brutally or treat with savage harshness

Etymology: "Savagize" is a plain combination of "savage" and the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make or become something." Put together, it means to make savage, or to render someone or something brutal or wild. The base word "savage" came into English from Old French "salvage" or "sauvage," ultimately from Latin "silvaticus," meaning "of the woods," from "silva," a wood. So the root sense is a creature of the forest, untamed rather than inherently cruel, and the sense of fierceness developed later. The suffix "-ize" comes from Greek "-izein," which Latin adopted as "-izare" and which English picked up through French and Latin, giving us a large family of verbs such as "civilize" and "mobilize."

Synonyms: brutalize, barbarize

Antonyms: civilize, tame