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
adverbferociousness
nounExplore M-W
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
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Although bulls are known for being ferocious and intimidating, Ferdinand maintains a mellow demeanor, separating himself from the rest of the bulls.
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The Acculturated website illustrates her essay with a photo of an admittedly rather scary queen whose phantasmagoric regalia includes ferocious blue eye shadow.
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Hours of ferocious combat left at least nine Americans dead and 39 injured, according to preliminary casualty reports.
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Slicing, dicing, flailing a one-hander and making whimsical decisions during points, Schiavone offered a singular game and a ferocious contrast to baseline bashing.
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Fighting, especially in the city’s west, has been ferocious, leaving Iraqi forces with thousands of casualties.
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The town also has an excellent museum devoted to the ferocious battles along the Isonzo front, with large-scale maps, models of the terrain, artifacts, and photographs.
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One of the most ferocious holdouts was the Arechiga family, who had come to Chavez Ravine in 1923.
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Darwin sailed through the Tuamotus on the Beagle in 1835, marveling at how islands just barely above the sea managed not to be swept away by the ferocious Pacific.
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
Synonym Discussion of ferocious
FEROCIOUS Defined for English Language Learners
ferocious
playDefinition of ferocious for English Language Learners
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: very fierce or violent
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: very great or extreme
FEROCIOUS Defined for Kids
Learn More about ferocious
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See 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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