feral
fer·al/ˈfɛɹəl/adjective, noun
feral is spelled F-E-R-A-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables (fer·al). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, feral means “Wild; untamed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in feral?
| Letters | 5: F-E-R-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fer·al |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is feral?
Feral appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce feral?
- UK /ˈfɛɹəl/
- UK /ˈfɪəɹəl/
- British /ˈfɛɹəl/
Feral has 2 syllables, split fer·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: EN-AU_ck1_feral.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with feral
Sounds like: ferrule, ferryl (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with feral?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as feral (/ɛɹəl/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: flare.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of feral
- more feral comparative
- most feral superlative
- ferals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does feral mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Wild; untamed.
- 2
Of an animal, wild but descended from domestic or captive ancestors; thus, in the wild, although not necessarily of the wild type.
In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.
- 3
Having the characteristics of an animal; animal-like.
- 4
Of a person, contemptible; unruly; misbehaved.
This consideration doth afford us no small light in conceiving and judging the manners and qualifications of persons, as hath been observed, that those that have impressions of grapes, or signals of vines on their bodies, are addicted to dr
- 5
Behaving in an out-of-control way due to enthrallment with a certain thought, behavior, person, etc.
- 6
slangThat is a feral character; zoomorphic.
- 7
Deadly, fatal.
- 8
Of or pertaining to the dead, funereal.
noun
- 1
A domesticated (non-human) animal that has returned to the wild; an animal, particularly a domesticated animal, living independently of humans.
- 2
AustraliacolloquialA contemptible young person, a lout, a person who behaves wildly.
- 3
AustraliacolloquialA person who has isolated themselves from the outside world; one living an alternative lifestyle.
- 4
slangA furry character in art or literature which has the appearance of a regular animal (typically quadrupedal), that may or may not be able to communicate with humans or "anthros".
The story is about a group of ferals which have to explore the ruins of society after the humans die out.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Feral in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense wild or untamed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | féral, marron, haret |
| German | wild, verwildert |
| Portuguese | silvestre |
| Spanish | ferino, feroz, fiero, cimarrón, montaraz, silvestre |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does feral come from?
From Latin fera (“wild beast”, noun) + -al or Latin ferus (“wild; savage; cruel”, adjective) + -al. Alternatively, borrowed from Middle French féral or Late Latin ferālis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).