ferocious
[fuh-roh-shuh s]
- savagely fierce, as a wild beast, person, action, or aspect; violently cruel: a ferocious beating.
- extreme or intense: a ferocious thirst.
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Origin of ferocious
Synonyms
See more synonyms for ferocious on Thesaurus.com1. rapacious. See fierce.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ferociousness
Historical Examples
You are radically polite; this impetuosity and ferociousness is simply the sincerity which is the basis of a proper deportment.
The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other TalesBret Harte
The brutality of the police, equalled in ferociousness the massacre of the Yeomanry Cavalry.
The Battle of The PressTheophila Carlile Campbell
There was ferociousness in the heart of the Indian, but Grace's voice had stayed his hand.
Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders in the Great North WoodsJessie Graham Flower
His personal misfortunes will prove the anarchy of the government and the ferociousness of the times.
There was a fascination in his manner that made the ferociousness of his antagonist subside into impotence.
Caleb WilliamsWilliam Godwin
ferocious
- savagely fierce or cruela ferocious tiger; a ferocious argument
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin ferox fierce, untamable, warlike
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ferociousness
ferocious
adj.
1640s, from Latin ferocis, oblique case of ferox "fierce, wild-looking" (see ferocity). Related: Ferociously; ferociousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper