ferocious

adjective

fe·​ro·​cious fə-ˈrō-shəs How to pronounce ferocious (audio)
1
: exhibiting or given to extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality
a ferocious predator
the ferocious butchery of women and children
2
: extremely intense
ferocious heat
The competition among the students was ferocious.
ferociously adverb
ferociousness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for ferocious

fierce, ferocious, barbarous, savage, cruel mean showing fury or malignity in looks or actions.

fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack.

fierce warriors

ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.

a ferocious dog

barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people.

barbarous treatment of prisoners

savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion.

a savage criminal

cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it.

the cruel jokes of schoolboys

Examples of ferocious in a Sentence

A ferocious wind swept the beach. The competition among the students was ferocious.
Recent Examples on the Web The run has been fueled by a ferocious influx of cash: Investors poured nearly $60 billion into funds that buy stocks in the United States for the week through March 13, a record for data from EPFR Global, which has been tracking fund flows for more than 20 years. Joe Rennison, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 But here’s the thing: the trend cycle is now operating at such a ferocious pace that almost everything is trending at once, the lack of a trend in effect being the biggest trend of all. Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2024 And no history of the Voice can ignore the litany of ferocious battles that took place inside its headquarters. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 Ohio primary a political knife fight Ohio's GOP Senate primary is heading toward a ferocious finish after Moreno, Dolan and LaRose have savaged each other for months. Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024 That sublimation is what seems to drive the game’s great competitors, including Clark, with all her ferocious hunger, in Iowa, and Dawn Staley and South Carolina, which went undefeated in the regular season, despite losing all its starters from last year. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2024 The movie introduced fans to a rough-and-tumble baseball team that was welcoming a new member to their crew, building a rivalry with a ferocious dog, and looking for love poolside. EW.com, 21 Feb. 2024 Winds are likely to fall just short of the ferocious 60 to 70 mph that drove that fire, but fires will still be able to spread quickly in similarly dry conditions. Mary Gilbert, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 Joined by a kleptomaniac fox (Awkwafina), a brusque pangolin (Ke Huy Quan) and a trio of ferocious little bunnies, Po sets out to defeat a sorcerer named the Chameleon (Viola Davis). Amy Nicholson, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ferocious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin feroc-, ferox, literally, fierce looking, from ferus + -oc-, -ox (akin to Greek ōps eye) — more at eye

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ferocious was in 1646

Dictionary Entries Near ferocious

Cite this Entry

“Ferocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ferocious. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ferocious

adjective
fe·​ro·​cious fə-ˈrō-shəs How to pronounce ferocious (audio)
1
2
: very great : extreme
ferocious heat
ferociously adverb
ferociousness noun
ferocity
fə-ˈräs-ət-ē
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on ferocious

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