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ferity

American  
[fer-i-tee] / ˈfɛr ɪ ti /

noun

  1. a wild, untamed, or uncultivated state.

  2. savagery; ferocity.


ferity British  
/ ˈfɛrɪtɪ /

noun

  1. the state of being wild or uncultivated

  2. savagery; ferocity

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ferity

1525–35; < Latin feritās, equivalent to fer ( us ) wild, untamed + -itās -ity

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.

Thus writes Edmund Spenser, the author of the "Fa�rie Queen," a man not famous for his ferity.

From Great Ralegh by Selincourt, Hugh de

Its wild, demoniac laughter awakens the echoes on the solitary lakes, and its ferity and hardiness are kindred to those robust spirits.

From Birds and Poets : with Other Papers by Burroughs, John

There is a savor of the like ferity and sweetness in this poem.

From John Greenleaf Whittier His Life, Genius, and Writings by Kennedy, W. Sloane

To burn the bones of the King of Edom for lime seems no irrational ferity: but to store the back volumes of Mr Bottomley's "John Bull" a passionate prodigality.'

From On The Art of Reading by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir

To burn the bones of the king of Edom for lime,# seems no irrational ferity; but to drink of the ashes of dead relations,$ a passionate prodigality.

From Religio Medici, Hydriotaphia, and the Letter to a Friend by Browne, Thomas, Sir