ferocious

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adjective fe·ro·cious \fə-ˈrō-shəs\

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.

ferociously

adverb

ferociousness

noun

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Examples of ferocious in a Sentence

A ferocious wind swept the beach.
The competition among the students was ferocious.

Recent Examples of ferocious from the Web

Humanity will get its closest look ever next week at Jupiter's famed Giant Red Spot, a ferocious, 10,000-mile wide storm whipped by 300 mph winds.

— doyle rice, Detroit Free Press, "Humanity to get closest look ever at Jupiter's Giant Red Spot", 6 July 2017
At about 10:40 p.m., the band gathered at the front of the stage to serenade a crowd of 200-plus who had endured a nearly two-hour delay prompted by ferocious thunderstorm that roared through the area.

— timothy finn, kansascity.com, "On day two, Boulevardia headliners adjust to the weather’s fury", 18 June 2017
Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods also brings disruption to the $700 billion U.S. grocery sector, a traditional area of retailing that stands on the precipice of a ferocious price war.

— reuters, Fortune, "Amazon’s Whole Foods Acquisition Reignites Walmart War", 18 June 2017
The belief that one day this ferocious beast of unrelenting wilderness and grim seas will become a slave to the will of man is absolutely folly.

— cinthia ritchie, Alaska Dispatch News, "If you can ignore the errors and over-dramatization, ‘Angie Piper’ works", 18 June 2017
Assad’s victory followed ferocious battles, in which thousands died, and left the rebel enclave in ruins.

— Washington Post, "Key moments in Russia’s campaign, involvement in Syrian war", 16 June 2017
Mantises are surprisingly ferocious insects; scientists have previously seen them attacking and feasting on a variety of hummingbird species.

— shaena montanari, National Geographic, "Praying Mantis Devours Hummingbird in Shocking Photo", 16 June 2017
Now, those soldiers, several of whom McCloughan saved during the ferocious, dayslong Battle of Nui Yon Hill in 1969, will have a new name for him: Medal of Honor recipient.

— mike householder, The Seattle Times, "Michigan Vietnam vet is Trump’s 1st Medal of Honor recipient", 13 June 2017
With both players pressed for time, a ferocious display of maneuvering with the heavy pieces (queen and rooks) ensued.

— michael ciamarra, AL.com, "Alabama's rising chess star Arden Markin, tournament prize winners", 11 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of ferocious

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

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First Known Use: 1646

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of 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