1
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
the ferocious appetite that athletic teenagers have been known to display
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2
as in fierce
marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity
ferocious forest fires threatened to destroy hundreds of homes in the scrubland
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3
as in savage
violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition
the animal is known as a ferocious predator
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4
as in frantic
marked by great and often stressful excitement or activity
after a day of ferocious up-and-down trading, the stock market ended up down 300 points
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ferocious
Both general elections are expected to be competitive, but only the New Jersey Democratic primary has featured ferocious competition out of the four party primaries.
—
Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 19 May 2025
The same starting unit that fluctuated between scary and weary all season was the one that led a ferocious comeback from down 14 points to snag a commanding lead.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Videos from people in the crowd posted to social media showed a ferocious downpour, and the National Weather Service warned of possible 80 mph winds in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park.
—Phil Helsel, NBC news, 16 May 2025
Markets remain one all-caps Truth Social post away from either a meltdown or a ferocious rally.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ferocious
Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 19 May 2025
The same starting unit that fluctuated between scary and weary all season was the one that led a ferocious comeback from down 14 points to snag a commanding lead.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Videos from people in the crowd posted to social media showed a ferocious downpour, and the National Weather Service warned of possible 80 mph winds in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park.
—Phil Helsel, NBC news, 16 May 2025
Markets remain one all-caps Truth Social post away from either a meltdown or a ferocious rally.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ferocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ferocious
Adjective
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Stark images of burning vehicles, rioters spraying painting cars with expletives and the intense back and forth between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over how local law enforcement is handling the problems have been among the topics of conversation.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2025
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Healthy people can still experience short-term symptoms like fever, intense headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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Meta’s big bet on Wang fits into CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to bolster his company’s AI efforts amid fierce competition from OpenAI and Google-parent Alphabet.—
Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
13 June 2025
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Sanders’s Senate counterpart, Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), is a fierce Trump critic.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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While there have been phone calls between the two, the handshake accompanied by the frantic clicks of camera shutters will mark the start of the new German-US relationship.—
Sebastian Shukla,
CNN Money,
5 June 2025
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Irritatingly, my frantic battle to do so is not sufficiently compelling to warrant further description.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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Ware picked up all the cases while on intensive supervised release after serving three years and three months for aiding and abetting first-degree robbery out of Hennepin County.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
6 June 2025
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Russia used a Tu-160 in intensive overnight missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, Kyiv's air force said on Friday.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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Noni finds herself up against Lion’s violent henchmen and women in series of fight-to-the-death encounters aboard the tyrant’s grandiose sailing ship, which lies at the heart of a vast naval fleet.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
9 June 2025
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The protests had been largely peaceful throughout Friday and Saturday, with isolated instances of violent activity.—
Michael Wilner,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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There are other objects of worship from the days when Japan’s Christians had to hide from vicious persecution, including a ceramic bottle of holy water from Nakaenoshima, an island where Hidden Christians were martyred in the 1620s.—
Foster Klug,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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Years before the Kendrick Lamar and Drake imbroglio, Pusha T shared his own vicious diss track against the Canadian hip-hop superstar.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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Ripley capped off a furious comeback with a Razor’s Edge toss of Perez onto Giulia, followed by a slam onto a ladder lodged between the first and second ropes.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
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Then came the very public split between President Trump and Elon Musk, and a flurry of furious Twitter/X and Truth Social postings, aimed at each other with razor-sharp edges.—
Space.com Staff,
Space.com,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ferocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ferocious. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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