How to use feral in a sentence

33 example sentences · adjective, noun

Feral means wild; untamed. Example: “In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.”

Examples of feral by meaning

adjectiveWild; untamed.

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.2007 July 8, Jesse Green, “Let Her Entertain You. Please!”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2020

adjectiveOf an animal, wild but descended from domestic or captive ancestors; thus, in the wild, although not necessarily of the...

In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.
It owes its existence to a feral culture of internet goblins who sentence-mixed the same few janky cutscenes for years.2023 July 13, Harvey Randall, “The internet shitposted too close to the sun, and now we're getting a spiritual successor to the most cursed...

adjectiveHaving the characteristics of an animal; animal-like.

It was hot and the air was thick with smoke and the sweet, feral smell of two hundred negro bodies.1954, Ian Fleming, “Table Z”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 55

nounA domesticated (non-human) animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living...

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.1960 May 19, “Notes and Comments: No homes for the pigeons”, in New Scientist, page 1261
You trap ferals, neuter them, and give them their rabies shot.2007, Clea Simon, Cries and Whiskers, page 26
If you′ve ever put a saucer of milk out for a hard-luck kitty, or if you′re spending your lunch hour sharing sandwiches with the ferals near your office, this is the chapter for you.2011, Gina Spadafori, Paul D. Pion, Cats for Dummies, unnumbered page

nounA person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle.

The ferals are the scapegoats for the drug problems here, and are highly visible since many of them have nowhere to live.1995, Bill Metcalf, From Utopian Dreaming to Communal Reality: Cooperative Lifestyles in Australia, page 82
A pod of ferals was moving towards the exit, a half-dozen soap-shy, low-tech, bush-dwelling hippies.2002, Shane Maloney, Something Fishy, published 2003, page 208
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.2010, Anna Krien, Into The Woods: The Battle For Tasmania's Forests, page 102

nounA furry character in art or literature which has the appearance of a regular animal (typically quadrupedal), that may...

The story is about a group of ferals which have to explore the ruins of society after the humans die out.

More sentences with feral

Przewalski's horses are the only remaining wild horses, although there are many feral horses throughout the world.From the entry wild
He adjusted to domesticated life remarkably well, retaining his regal feral “cattitude.”2014, Kathleen M. Downey, Legendary Locals of Newburyport, Legendary Locals, →ISBN, page 18. From the entry cattitude
The werecrocodile laughed at him, the feral grin of a predator displaying nightmarish fangs.2012, Ilona Andrews, “Retribution Clause”, in P. N. Elrod, editor, Hex Appeal, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 32. From the entry werecrocodile
Also, I bleed for the welfare of our children among our growing population of feral underclass.2010, Mark A. Bruhwiller, The Last Dog Watch: A Memoir of a Wilful Young Lad, page 108. From the entry bleed for
The kids in town now that have the most fun are the so-called 'feral kids'.2006, G. Cowlishaw, editor, Bourke: Our Yarns: The Stories Behind 'Blackfellas, Whitefellas', page 83. From the entry yabby
A feral untamed fightah, bravah thahn any I've known since, present company accepted.2006, Paul Dean Coker, The Figurehead, Paul Dean Coker, →ISBN, page 224. From the entry fightah
The first batch usually comprised the feral eaters with no social life.2006, Upamanyu Chatterjee, “Hindi Lesson”, in Weight Loss, London: Penguin Books, published 2007, →ISBN, page 124. From the entry wolve down
Are they escapes gone feral, or are they spreading from Africa?2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 124. From the entry escape
However, feral dogs aren't all bad, because one of their favorite foods is rats.1991, Susan Scott, Plants and Animals of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, Hi.: Bess Press, →ISBN, page 123. From the entry nene
“Rightwing, but not feral,” is quite the commendation now.2023 August 8, Janan Ganesh, “The oneness of Ron DeSantis and Rishi Sunak”, in Financial Times. From the entry Overton window
Domi made a feral sound, half growl and half chuckle.1998 March, James Axler [pseudonym; Mark Ellis], Omega Path (Outlanders; 4), Don Mills, Ont.: Gold Eagle Books, Worldwide Library, page 190. From the entry snow leopardess
I was queasy about my first spay of a far-gone feral and left it up to my vet.1997 July 28, Sharon Talbert, “spay/abortion of pregnant cats”, in rec.pets.cat.rescue (Usenet). From the entry spay
Jessie looks out from the photograph, full-length, quarter-profile, Edwardianly dressed, hands on hips, her hair a feral variation on Gibson Girl.1982, Meanjin, page 181. From the entry Edwardianly
Its first movement is a sedate, haunting, almost melodramatic nocturne, but before too long the concerto changes gear and becomes energetic, discordant, feral.2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 137. From the entry nocturne
Appetizers came, but after a few minutes of lifting forkfuls of air, some couples went feral, snatching fistfuls of fishcake and pawing at the mesclun.2010 May 7, Sarah Maslin Nir, “Nocturnalist | If Seeing Is Believing, What Is Tasting?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New…. From the entry fishcake
In a long tracking shot at the start of the film, a feral cat prowls this wasteland until it is felled by a slow-motion arrow.2010 January 25, Richard Corliss, “American Savior: Denzel Washington in Book of Eli”, in Time. From the entry tracking shot
The American Ringtail breed is being developed to preserve a trait occasionally found in feral populations, in which the cat carries her tail in a curl over her back.2014, Sandy Robins, The Original Cat Bible: The Definitive Source for All Things Cat, Fox Chapel Publishing, →ISBN. From the entry American Ringtail
The rock dove has so interbred with the feral pigeons from doocots and racing pigeon lofts that, as a pure species, it may possibly now be extinct in Britain.2009 January 29, Ray Collier, “Country diary”, in The Guardian. From the entry interbreed
Swarms were reasonably common place in rural areas when New Zealand had a large feral bee population but few wild bees now survive due to varroa disease.2009 January 29, Don Farmer, “Shop forced to shut as bees swarm”, in Wairarapa Times-Age. From the entry varroa
A more pressing struggle is the one Crystal Castles have to contend with each night: feral fanboys who use Glass' aggressiveness as an excuse to get handsy.2008 September, Phoebe Reilly, “Thick As Thieves”, in Spin. From the entry handsy
Other species not protected include "exotic and feral species such as mute swans, graylag geese, muscovy ducks, European starlings, house (English) sparrows, and rock doves (pigeons)."2001 August 31, Cecil Adams, “The Straight Dope”, in Chicago Reader. From the entry Muscovy duck
Odd that it did not fight you." The blunt-nose, slope-browed face of the monsterling was inscrutable, scarlet eyes inhuman and feral in the glow of the fire.1999, Lin Carter, The Quest of Kadji. From the entry monsterling

Meaning of feral

adjective Wild; untamed.
adjective Of an animal, wild but descended from domestic or captive ancestors; thus, in the wild, although not necessarily of the wild type.
adjective Having the characteristics of an animal; animal-like.

Full definition of feral

Questions about feral in a sentence

How do you use feral in a sentence?: Feral is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.”
What is a short sentence with feral?: ““Rightwing, but not feral,” is quite the commendation now.”
What does feral mean?: Feral means wild; untamed.

Adapted from Wiktionary: feral (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use feral in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/feral. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.