feral

adj

1. Wild; untamed.

   “1876 Statistical, Descriptive, And Historical Account Of The North-Western Provinces Of India. Allahabad: North-Western Provinces' Government Press 1876. p XIV, Agra Division The spotted deer, in a truly feral state, has very much the same distribution in Bundelkhand as the sambar, but it is more numerous.”

   “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.”

2. Wild; untamed.

   “In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.”

   “This subject has been ably treated by several authors, and I shall, in my future work, discuss some of the checks at considerable length, more especially in regard to the feral animals of South America.”

   “The Guinea fowl has become thoroughly feral in Jamaica and in St. Domingo, and has diminished in size; the legs are black, whereas the legs of the aboriginal African bird are said to be grey. This small change is worth notice on account of the often-repeated statement that all feral animals invariably revert in every character to their original type.”

   “It owes its existence to a feral culture of internet goblins who sentence-mixed the same few janky cutscenes for years.”

3. Wild; untamed.

   “Palmistry . . .The figure of a semicircle in the quadrangle of the hand, notes a feral shedder of human blood, an implacable merciless spirit.... Little puncts disorderly in the natural line, shew the worst of manners, and a feral beast-like nature.”

4. (Internet)Wild; untamed.

   “Miners fans have been going absolutely feral over you, [and] you're also disgustingly talented. People want you to play for them! You had Canadians bitching about you being American born the first time you played for Team USA.”

5. (not-comparable, slang)Wild; untamed.
6. Deadly, fatal.
7. 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.

   “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.”

   “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.”

   “You trap ferals, neuter them, and give them their rabies shot. Maybe distemper.”

   “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.

   “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.”

   “A pod of ferals was moving towards the exit, a half-dozen soap-shy, low-tech, bush-dwelling hippies.”

   “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. (slang)A 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.”

5. (alt-of, misspelling)Misspelling of ferrule.