English
feral
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈfɛɹəl/, /ˈfɪəɹəl/
Adjective

feral

  1. Wild, untamed, especially of domesticated animals having returned to the wild.
  2. (of a person) Contemptible, unruly, misbehaved.
Translations Noun

feral (plural ferals)

  1. A domesticated animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living independently of humans.
    • 2005, Alexandra Powe Allred, Cats' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=-VCWohlbCuoC&pg=PT113&dq=%22ferals%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=G2NPT5SoMqnYiAKa8rGKDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ferals%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false unnumbered page],
      Traffic, abuse, inhumane traps, and accidental poisoning are other hazards ferals must face. […] In England one gamekeeper claimed to have killed over three hundred ferals, while another brought home pelts to his wife so that she could design rugs from cat skins as a source of secondary income.
    • 2007, Clea Simon, Cries and Whiskers, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=LsGWPT30GJsC&pg=PA26&dq=%22ferals%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EntPT-XOJOKuiQK-xaC0Bg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ferals%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 26],
      You trap ferals, neuter them, and give them their rabies shot. Maybe distemper.
    • 2011, Gina Spadafori, Paul D. Pion, Cats for Dummies, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=20BW2jpwhcMC&pg=PT123&dq=%22ferals%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=G2NPT5SoMqnYiAKa8rGKDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ferals%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false unnumbered page],
      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.
  2. (Australia, colloquial) A contemptible young person, a lout, a person who behaves wildly.
  3. (Australia, colloquial) A person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle.
    • 1995, Bill Metcalf, From Utopian Dreaming to Communal Reality: Cooperative Lifestyles in Australia, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=508gikJRo3gC&pg=PA82&dq=%22ferals%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=w4hPT7-6DqabiQK51am0Bg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ferals%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 82],
      The intolerance which was directed towards us during the early years has now shifted to ‘the ferals’ who embrace a new version of nonconformist behaviour that even some of us in their parent′s generation — the Aquarian settlers — don′t like. The ferals are the scapegoats for the drug problems here, and are highly visible since many of them have nowhere to live.
    • 2002, Shane Maloney, Something Fishy, 2003, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=czAlMClj2VoC&pg=PA208&dq=%22ferals%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EntPT-XOJOKuiQK-xaC0Bg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ferals%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 208],
      A pod of ferals was moving towards the exit, a half-dozen soap-shy, low-tech, bush-dwelling hippies.
    • 2010, Anna Krien, Into The Woods: The Battle For Tasmania's Forests, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=EmRQbqZ22SEC&pg=PA102&dq=%22ferals%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=s4tPT9y9N9HSmAXk4bWoCg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22ferals%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 102],
      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. Even residents of Maydena who want to see the Florentine protected dislike the ratbags′ itinerancy.
  4. (furry subculture) A character in furry art or literature which has the physical characteristics (body) of a regular animal (typically quadripedal), that may or may not be able to communicate with humans or anthros (contrasts anthro)
    A lot of furries I know don't particularly like feral characters.
    The story is about a group of ferals which have to explore the ruins of society after the humans die out.


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