fierce

1 violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition the Vikings had a well-earned reputation for being fierce warriors Synonyms fell, ferocious, grim, savage, vicious Related Words argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, discordant, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, scrappy, warlike; bare-knuckle (also bare-knuckled or bare-knuckles), blood-and-guts, in-your-face, take-no-prisoners; contentious, quarrelsome, truculent; menacing, threatening; bestial, brute, inhuman, inhumane; barbaric, uncivilized, wild; heartless, implacable, merciless, pitiless, relentless, ruthless, unrelenting, wanton; bloodthirsty, bloody, homicidal, murdering, murderous, sanguinary, sanguine; rapacious, ravenous, voracious Near Antonyms amicable, companionable, comradely, congenial, cordial, friendly, genial, hearty, warm, warmhearted; compliant, submissive, tame; benign, compassionate, kind, merciful; pacific, peaceable, peaceful; amiable, complaisant, obliging; human, humane; civilized, cultured Antonyms gentle, mild, unaggressive

2 extreme in degree, power, or effect a fierce wind made the frigid temperatures seem even worse Synonyms acute, almighty, blistering, deep, dreadful, excruciating, explosive, exquisite, fearful, fearsome, ferocious, intense, frightful, furious, ghastly, hard, heavy, heavy-duty, hellacious, intensive, keen, profound, terrible, vehement, vicious, violentRelated Words accentuated, aggravated, concentrated, deepened; emphasized, enhanced, heightened, intensified, magnified; stressed; exhaustive, thorough; harsh, rigorous, severeNear Antonyms feeble, weak; shallow, superficial; moderated, qualified; alleviated, eased, lightened, toned (down); abated, decreased, diminished, lessened, reduced, subduedAntonyms light, moderate, soft

3 harsh and threatening in manner or appearance the fierce faces of the players on the opposing hockey team Synonyms austere, dour, grim, flinty, forbidding, gruff, intimidating, lowering (also louring), rough, rugged, severe, stark, steely, stern, ungentleRelated Words bleak, cold, hostile, inhospitable, inimical, unfriendly, unsympathetic; adamant, bound, determined, firm, intent, purposeful, resolute, resolved, steadfast, unflinching; fixed, hard, hardened, hardheaded, immovable, implacable, inflexible, ironhanded, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, rigid, self-willed, set, stiff, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (or wilful); immutable, unchangeable; black, cheerless, dark, gloomy, glum, joyless, melancholic, moody, morose, sulky, sullen, surly; brooding, grave, humorless, melancholy, serious, sober, sobersided, solemn, somber (or sombre), staid, unsmiling, weightyNear Antonyms bland, meek, mellow, soft, soothing; easy, quiet, tranquil; agreeable, bright, cheerful, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, sweet; glad, happy, lighthearted, merry, mirthful, sunny; featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, giddy, goofy, harebrained, light-headed, playful, scatterbrained, sillyAntonyms benign, benignant, gentle, mild, nonintimidating, tender

4 having or showing a bold forcefulness in the pursuit of a goal a social reformer of fierce and fearless determination Synonyms ambitious, assertive, enterprising, aggressive, go-getting, high-pressure, in-your-face, militant, pushy, self-asserting, self-assertiveRelated Words argumentative, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, discordant, disputatious, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, trigger-happy, truculent, warlike; hyperaggressive, overambitious; dynamic, energetic, enterprising, gung ho, hustling, strenuous, vigorous; emphatic, obtrusive; adventuresome, adventurous, daring, dashing, emboldened, gutsy, venturesome, venturous; audacious, bold, brash, brassy, bumptious, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, confident, determined, forward, impudent, insolent, overconfident, presumptuous, unapologetic, unsubdued, unyielding; bare-knuckle (also bare-knuckled or bare-knuckles), feisty, scrappy; dominating, domineering, imperious, lordly, magisterial, overbearingNear Antonyms easygoing, laid-back, relaxed; acquiescent, amenable, compliant, deferential, docile, resigned, submissive, tractable, yielding; cowering, cringing, groveling (or grovelling), shrinking; bashful, demure, diffident, humble, lowly, meek, mild, modest, mousy (or mousey), overmodest, passive, quiet, reserved, retiring, shy, subdued, timid, unobtrusive; obsequious, servile, slavish, subservientAntonyms ambitionless, low-pressure, nonassertive, unaggressive, unambitious, unassertive, unenterprising

5 marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity fierce fighting raged in the streets of the war-torn city Synonyms bang-bang, blood-and-guts, convulsive, cyclonic, explosive, ferocious, violent, furious, hammer-and-tongs, hot, knock-down, drag-out (or knock-down-and-drag-out), paroxysmal, rabid, rough, stormy, tempestuous, tumultuous, turbulent, volcanicRelated Words barbarous, brutal, savage, vicious; antagonistic, hostile; aggressive, assertive, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, gladiatorial, pugnacious, quarrelsome, truculent; combustible, volatile; agitated, frantic, frenzied, mad; cataclysmal (or cataclysmic), destructive, ruinousNear Antonyms calm, halcyon, pacific, serene, tranquil; nonbelligerent, unaggressiveAntonyms nonviolent, peaceable, peaceful

6 marked by great and often stressful excitement or activity fierce early-morning trading sent stocks soaring Synonyms delirious, ferocious, feverish, furious, frantic, frenetic, frenzied, mad, rabid, violent, wildRelated Words concentrated, high-pressured, intense, intensive, vehement; excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, inordinate, lavish, overmuch, overweening, unconscionable, undue; crazed, crazy, demented, deranged, insane, irrational, lunatic, mad, maniacal (also maniac)Near Antonyms calm, peaceful, placid, quiet, serene, subdued, tranquil, undisturbed, unperturbed, untroubled; moderate, reasonable, temperate; casual, easygoing, low-pressure; balanced, sane, soundAntonyms relaxed