noble savage

noun

: a mythic conception of people belonging to non-European cultures as having innate natural simplicity and virtue uncorrupted by European civilization
also : a person exemplifying this conception

Examples of noble savage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The curtain was ornately embroidered with images of bears, onion domes, and noble savages untainted by logic. Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023 Native Americans have long been depicted in Hollywood films and television projects as either bloodthirsty barbarians or noble savages. Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1670, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of noble savage was in 1670

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Cite this Entry

“Noble savage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noble%20savage. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.

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