ferocious

[fuh-roh-shuhs]

adjective

1. savagely fierce, as a wild beast, person, action, or aspect; violently cruel.

   a ferocious beating.

   Synonyms: rapacious

2. extreme or intense.

   a ferocious thirst.

ferocious

/ fəˈrɒsɪtɪ, fəˈrəʊʃəs /

adjective

1. savagely fierce or cruel

   a ferocious tiger

   a ferocious argument

Other Word Forms

• ferocity noun
• ferociously adverb
• ferociousness noun
• nonferocious adjective
• nonferociously adverb
• nonferociousness noun
• unferocious adjective
• unferociously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferocious¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin ferōc-, stem of ferōx “savage, fierce” ( fer(us) “wild” ( feral ¹, fierce ) + -ōx “having such an appearance”; akin to eye ( def. ), oculus ( def. ), -opsis ) + -ious

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferocious¹

C17: from Latin ferox fierce, untamable, warlike

Synonym Study

See fierce.

Example Sentences

It was simply his cue to unleash a ferocious finishing kick.

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He remains a thunderclap from the baseline, but has options other than ferocious groundstrokes.

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Asked about whether he has offered his castmate support, Elordi praises Dane’s “ferocious” performance, then pokes the sand with a stick and declines to go further because it’s private.

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The two sides have been engaged in a ferocious civil war for more than two years, causing the world's worst humanitarian crisis and tens of thousands of deaths.

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The defence painted Combs as reformed, describing his positive contributions at the jail in Brooklyn, New York, where he's being held and citing "untreated trauma and a ferocious drug addiction" as factors in his behaviour.

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Related Words

• brutal 
• brutish 
• cruel 
• fierce 
• frightful 
• merciless 
• murderous 
• ravenous 
• relentless 
• ruthless 
• savage 
• vehement 
• vicious 
• voracious