A foreign character seen as savage (6)
I believe the answer is:
unkind
'as savage' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'a foreign character' is the wordplay.
'a foreign' becomes 'un' ('a' translated into French).
'character' becomes 'kind' (I've seen this before).
'un'+'kind'='UNKIND'
'seen' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for unkind that I've seen before include "Heartless, brutal" , "Mean, pitiless" , "Unsympathetic or cruel" , "Not gentle or considerate" , "Cold-hearted" .)