ferocity
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ferocity
1600–10; < Latin ferōcitās, equivalent to ferōc-, stem of ferōx ferocious + -itās -ity
Explanation
Ferocity is the state of being ferocious — wild, scary, and fierce. A five year-old girl pretending to be a lion will display her ferocity by roaring and baring her teeth. Things known for their ferocity include wild animals, terrifying thunder storms, and fierce battlefield fights. A furious argument can have an element of ferocity, and so can a wild, loud piece of music. The Latin word ferus, which means "wild," is the root of not only ferocity, but ferocious and fierce. Ferocity came directly from the Latin ferocitatem, "fierceness, or wildness."
Vocabulary lists containing ferocity
"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
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Divergent
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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.
City's cheers would have been heard all the way from west London - and the ferocity with which Guardiola, his players and the travelling fans celebrated showed how important a victory this was.
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026
As Linda, she exudes a tightly coiled ferocity in sharp contrast to the fog of despair in which Willy seems to move.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
They haven’t piled into single stocks with the same ferocity, and instead they’ve put money into the market through index-tracking ETFs.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
Ursula has shades of Gellar’s famous characters — Buffy’s physical ferocity, Kathryn Merteuil’s ruthless cattiness, Daphne Blake’s affinity for mysterious games — but doesn’t play to one exclusively.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
She had to laugh at the ferocity of his scowl.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
