fiercely
Americanadverb
-
in a menacing, violent, or forceful way.
The bear stood on his back paws, growling fiercely.
Currently, some 20 wildfires are raging fiercely through the state.
-
in an eager or intense way.
Isaiah has developed into a fiercely competitive soccer player.
Other Word Forms
- overfiercely adverb
- unfiercely adverb
Etymology
Origin of fiercely
Vocabulary lists containing fiercely
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The land wasn’t empty, and Native American tribes fought fiercely to defend it in alliance with the British, leading Washington to dispatch multiple punitive expeditions to subdue them and exert American control.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
In a fiercely competitive market, he speaks to graduates like Karyna every week who have applied for hundreds of jobs, and believes AI screening means many are ditched before even being considered by a human.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
There’s also the much more fiercely debated trend of cataloging micro-aesthetics—sorting every conceivable vibe into named categories like “dark academia” or “coastal grandmother,” each with its own dress code and playlist.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
But Elham, a contentious and fiercely competitive student, suspects that Marjan’s zeal for anglophone culture, including Hollywood romantic comedies, masks a resentment for the Iranian life she is now stuck with.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
“They’re just little girls, dreaming up an adventure. I can’t drag them down to Mexico. I can’t sacrifice them to follow my path,” I whispered fiercely, still holding the ear pendant in front of me.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
