fierce
Americanadjective
-
menacingly wild, savage, or hostile.
fierce animals;
a fierce look.
-
violent in force, intensity, etc..
fierce winds.
- Synonyms:
- passionate, furious, turbulent
-
furiously eager or intense.
fierce competition.
- Synonyms:
- turbulent, passionate, furious
-
extremely bad or severe.
a fierce cold.
adjective
-
having a violent and unrestrained nature; savage
a fierce dog
-
wild or turbulent in force, action, or intensity
a fierce storm
-
vehement, intense, or strong
fierce competition
-
informal very disagreeable or unpleasant
Related Words
Fierce, ferocious, truculent suggest vehemence and violence of temper, manner, or action: fierce in repelling a foe. Ferocious implies fierceness or cruelty, especially of a bloodthirsty kind, in disposition or action: a ferocious glare; ferocious brutality toward helpless refugees. Truculent suggests an intimidating or bullying fierceness of manner or conduct: His truculent attitude kept them terrified and submissive.
Other Word Forms
- fiercely adverb
- fierceness noun
- overfierce adjective
- unfierce adjective
Etymology
Origin of fierce
First recorded in 1300–1350; from Middle English fiers, fers, from Old French fiers, fers, from Latin ferus “wild, fierce”; feral 1, ferocious
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.
He returned to management with West Ham's fierce rivals Millwall in May 1997, but it was a short-lived, unsuccessful spell and he left the following year.
From BBC
"The continuation of the trial is tearing us apart from within, arousing fierce divisions, intensifying rifts," the premier said in a video statement, referring to the split between his supporters and opponents.
From Barron's
"The continuation of the trial is tearing us apart from within, arousing fierce divisions, intensifying rifts."
From Barron's
SHANGHAI—For Western companies in China, a new reality has set in: The easy money is gone and competition is only getting fiercer.
The problem is that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are engaged in a fierce rivalry for influence across the Arab world, including countries such as Yemen and Syria, as well as Sudan.
From BBC
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.
