ferocious

English

Etymology

Taken from Latin ferox (“wild, bold, savage, fierce”) (with the suffix -ous), from ferus (“wild, savage, fierce”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fəˈɹəʊʃəs/
  • Rhymes: -əʊʃəs

Adjective

ferocious (comparative more ferocious, superlative most ferocious)

  1. Marked by extreme and violent energy.
    • 2011 October 1, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport‎:
      Scotland needed a victory by eight points to have a realistic chance of progressing to the knock-out stages, and for long periods of a ferocious contest looked as if they might pull it off.
  2. Extreme or intense.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

  • ferocious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • ferocious in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • ferocious at OneLook Dictionary Search
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