1
as in intense
extreme in degree, power, or effect
the ferocious appetite that athletic teenagers have been known to display
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in savage
violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition
the animal is known as a ferocious predator
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ferocious
Away from the nonstop publicity machinery, Mansfield is revealed to be a ferocious romantic who sometimes suffered the abuse of domineering and violent men.
—
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2025
Trump has seemed especially irritated about Putin’s propensity to have constructive or even friendly phone conversations with the president — only for Russia to launch ferocious bombardments against Ukrainian cities hours later.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 3 Aug. 2025
The devotion, at times, has turned almost ferocious; Pop Mart decided to suspend in-person sales of Labubu in the United Kingdom after reports of chaos at stores.
—Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2025
To watch her is to be enthralled by her — the ferocious eyes, hair like fire, a near-permanent smirk.
—Rance Collins, IndieWire, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ferocious
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2025
Trump has seemed especially irritated about Putin’s propensity to have constructive or even friendly phone conversations with the president — only for Russia to launch ferocious bombardments against Ukrainian cities hours later.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 3 Aug. 2025
The devotion, at times, has turned almost ferocious; Pop Mart decided to suspend in-person sales of Labubu in the United Kingdom after reports of chaos at stores.
—Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2025
To watch her is to be enthralled by her — the ferocious eyes, hair like fire, a near-permanent smirk.
—Rance Collins, IndieWire, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ferocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ferocious
Adjective
-
The community’s response is intense: panicked and bereaved mothers and fathers turn on Justine, indirectly a victim herself; misguided outrage blinds them to the real menace operating unimpeded in their midst.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
9 Aug. 2025
-
For Democrats, the internal pressure is even more intense.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Nonetheless, the show’s premiere provides the perfect moment to map out the slimy, menacing world of Ellen Ripley and company in their epic battle against one of the galaxy’s fiercest creatures.—
Dan Heching,
CNN Money,
12 Aug. 2025
-
The potential redistricting effort has faced fierce backlash from opponents, including Democratic lawmakers from the Kansas City area.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
The frantic search for the 34-year-old woman began in April and ended with the discovery of her remains in a narrow space between two buildings in Lakewood, Colo., a suburb of her home city of Denver, on Friday, June 6.—
Sam Gillette,
People.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Alongside the frantic rush for textbooks, new stationery, and the last days of summer freedom, students are now having to get to grips with new artificial intelligence tools.—
Dan Fitzpatrick,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Previous reports have noted his intensive training at the WWE Performance Center and his incredible physical transformation.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
-
Young’s legacy endures – her school remains a magnet for young performers aged 10 to 16, blending the academic curriculum with intensive training in acting, singing and dance.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
30 July 2025
Adjective
-
Shortly thereafter, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections and staged a violent coup to overthrow the Palestinian Authority and seize control of the Strip.—
Amelie Botbol,
FOXNews.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
There ended up being a fire in the shop, and police discovered the victims (again, content warning for a violent crime), naked, tied up, burned, shot in the head with at least one of them having been raped.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Feeling profoundly betrayed and abandoned by David, Rebecca’s loyalty lies with the vicious and conniving Juno, the only family she’s known for the last decade.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Nothing could possibly go wrong with all the vicious alien specimens on board, right?—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
And plenty of fans are furious that Childers has embraced studio bells and whistles — there’s vocoder and drum loops on some songs — and is no longer singing exclusively about hardscrabble Appalachian life à la his 2017 debut Purgatory.—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
4 Aug. 2025
-
Taiwan’s progressives, furious at the resulting obstruction, thus gathered enough signatures to vote on recalling roughly a third of the KMT’s legislators.—
LEV NACHMAN,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ferocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ferocious. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share