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ferocious

adjective
fe·​ro·​cious | \ fə-ˈrō-shəs How to pronounce ferocious (audio) \

Definition of ferocious

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.
Other Words from ferocious Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about ferocious

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Other Words from 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

 Excessive speed bumps, on top of already ferocious workloads, are a major cause of burnout. — Anne Fisher, Fortune, "Deloitte’s Plan for Fighting Employee Burnout: Let AI Take Over the Dreaded HR and IT Tasks," 1 Sep. 2019 Defensively, few teams were more ferocious a season ago. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, "Fresno State quarterback Jorge Reyna is unknown factor to USC’s defense," 29 Aug. 2019 In the midst of an unusually ferocious string of hurricanes in 2017, there was some speculation about whether storms could hit a Category 6. — CBS News, "Here's what the hurricane categories mean," 28 Aug. 2019 Rivals Borussia Dortmund are looking ferocious in attack, and will have learnt many things about themselves after throwing away the title last season. — SI.com, "Bayern Munich: Schalke May Have Been Dispatched But Die Roten Must Improve to Retain Bundesliga," 25 Aug. 2019 Davis was facing obsolescence in the Woodstock era but mounted a ferocious comeback by leaning into the new sounds, delivering the angry, funky Bitches Brew in 1970. — Kyle Smith, National Review, "The Angry Genius of Miles Davis," 21 Aug. 2019 Seeking a bigger chip for greater speeds A.I. has become a ferocious consumer of chip technology, constantly demanding faster parts. — Fortune, "Seeking Big A.I. Advances, a Startup Turns to a Huge Computer Chip," 19 Aug. 2019 North of downtown Flagstaff, at 9,500 feet on the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, summer seems much less ferocious. — Roger Naylor, azcentral, "Floating tiki bar, haunted pub crawl: 10 places for end-of-summer road trips in Arizona," 14 Aug. 2019 Rising sea levels, melting ice caps, tornadoes, and hurricanes more ferocious than ever. — Dave Levitan, The New Republic, "Reformed Climate Deniers Don’t Deserve Redemption," 8 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ferocious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of ferocious

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for ferocious

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

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More Definitions for ferocious

ferocious

adjective
How to pronounce ferocious (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of ferocious

: very fierce or violent
: very great or extreme

See the full definition for ferocious in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ferocious

adjective
fe·​ro·​cious | \ fə-ˈrō-shəs How to pronounce ferocious (audio) \

Kids Definition of ferocious

: fierce sense 1, savage a ferocious storm a ferocious roar

Other Words from ferocious

ferociously adverb

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More from Merriam-Webster on ferocious

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with ferocious

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ferocious

Spanish Central: Translation of ferocious

Nglish: Translation of ferocious for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of ferocious for Arabic Speakers

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