fierceness

American  

[feers-nis] / ˈfɪərs nɪs /

noun

1. a menacingly wild, savage, or hostile quality or character.

   In spite of the fierceness of the enemy barrage, the line was made secure.

   After many threats, he rushed at me with the fierceness of a wolf.

2. violent force, intensity, etc..

   Already the sudden storm is passing, and its fierceness is abating.

3. furious eagerness or intensity of emotion, etc..

   As I read her novel my heart was moved by the fierceness of her love for humanity.

4. the quality of being extremely bad or severe.

   Only by the fifth day, when the fierceness of the headache started to decrease, was she able to move normally again.

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Other Word Forms

• overfierceness noun

Etymology

Origin of fierceness

First recorded in 1350–1400; fierce ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

Chemaf’s founder, Shiraz Virji, son of a Zanzibar spice merchant, once hired dozens of Gurkhas, Nepalese soldiers with a reputation for fierceness, to guard one of the company’s mines against incursions by informal miners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

“The fierceness and price and cost demands of China’s markets make the winners emerging from here far more globally fit than most any other country’s environment will produce.”

From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025

He also opened a youth center and, for the next decade, dedicated himself to helping others, losing all of the fierceness he’d adopted as a fighter.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

The fierceness of the defence obviously stayed with Goldie - he later saw a poodle and hastily flew away.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2025

The Queen’s cheeks were marked with unnaturally bright red spots; her burning golden eyes had the same fierceness Kaede had seen in Elowen.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

Related Words

• wildness