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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of fierce
First recorded in 1300–1350; from Middle English fiers, fers, from Old French fiers, fers, from Latin ferus “wild, fierce”; cf. feral 1, ferocious
Explanation
Fierce is ferocious and forceful, like a lion. When you are fierce, opponents fear you. Despite their loss, the talented JV team put up a fierce fight against the varsity squad. Fierce comes from the Latin ferus 'wild animal.' It means strong, proud, dangerous and ready to roar. Fierce can also be used to mean intense. The family was known for their fierce pride. If you have a fierce work ethic, you don't rest until you finish the job. And a fierce storm can really devastate a community.
Vocabulary lists containing fierce
Beowulf vocabulary
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
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Excerpt from "Flipped"
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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.
See Examples For:
Now the San José fintech company has reportedly become a takeover target as it tries to get more people to click on the PayPal button to purchase items amid fierce competition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
They hailed from Arcadia Bluffs, a renowned public course in northern Michigan, and even Michigan State University, normally a fierce rival to the Ann Arbor school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The fierce fires ravaging parts of France and Spain are the result of forests and vegetation becoming more flammable because of drought and a series of record-breaking heatwaves that have hit Western Europe since May.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
But the smaller chip company’s new product announcements show there’s fierce competition in the market for central processing units as well.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Wolves were fierce predators—fast and tough, with jaws strong enough to bite through bones.
From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis
It’s possible this year’s conditions could grow into a rarer and fiercer “super El Niño.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Rams head logo has been “enhanced to appear bolder and tougher for a fiercer expression, and the horn features a sharper, more defined point,” the release said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
SHANGHAI—For Western companies in China, a new reality has set in: The easy money is gone and competition is only getting fiercer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
Spain has in recent years endured longer and more intense summer heatwaves, while fiercer autumn storms have drenched the country with torrential rain -- extreme weather events that scientists attribute to human-driven climate change.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
And each day the beast ate more than the day before, and each day it grew and it became fiercer and stronger.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
In a statement, McMaster said Graham was “irreplaceable,” calling him “the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
Apple has been one of the law's fiercest critics, calling on the EU to repeal the DMA last year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
But it is the mandatory religious texts that have drawn fiercest opposition from education and civil liberties groups.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Presiding over the baddies, Jared Leto’s blue-skinned, caped, literally boneheaded man-demon Skeletor is meant to be the fiercest of antagonists, but even his own henchmen find his signature evil cackle to be a bit laughable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Standing boldly on the backboard of the hay cart was the biggest, fiercest, most evil-looking rat that ever slunk out of a nightmare!
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
