ferocious

adjective

fe·​ro·​cious fə-ˈrō-shəs 

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

Synonyms

• acute
• almighty
• blistering
• deep
• dreadful
• excruciating
• explosive
• exquisite
• fearful
• fearsome
• fierce
• frightful
• furious
• ghastly
• hard
• heavy
• heavy-duty
• hellacious
• intense
• intensive
• keen
• profound
• terrible
• vehement
• vicious
• violent

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of ferocious in a Sentence

A ferocious wind swept the beach.

The competition among the students was ferocious.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the 1970s, the tree was struck by lightning at least three times during a ferocious thunderstorm. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024

Continued border incursions flared into a ferocious clash in 2020 that threatened to lead to all-out war. —Sameer Yasir, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024

Furthermore, despite a ferocious military campaign that has destroyed most of Gaza, which Hamas’s Health Ministry estimates has killed more than 33,000 people, Hamas has demonstrated an uncanny resilience and ability to persevere. —Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024

The eponymous labyrinth of ancient Greek mythology—the one with the ferocious Minotaur in its depths—is, in descriptions by classical authors, pretty obviously a maze. —Hazlitt, 10 Apr. 2024

The music has a crispy delicious retro-bop bounce, a quality that extends to Winehouse’s vocals, which take the growling-cat stylings of jazz legends like Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday and kick them up into something playfully ferocious. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024

This April, the biggest show in town just might be two ferocious birds hatching eggs on a big screen in Berkeley. —John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024

Cobain’s ferocious passion is reflected in his howling vocals and the band’s oftentimes ragtag performances (and sometimes humorous) — the perfect embodiment of how imperfection can be perfection. —Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 5 Apr. 2024

An inside look at the birth and power of ferocious storms But lately, things over the Atlantic Ocean have been anything but typical. —Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

ferocious

adjective

fe·​ro·​cious fə-ˈrō-shəs 

1

: fierce sense 1, savage

2

: very great : extreme

ferocious heat

ferociously adverb

ferociousness noun

ferocity

fə-ˈräs-ət-ē

noun