ferocious

English

Etymology

From Latin ferox (“wild, bold, savage, fierce”), from ferus (“wild, savage, fierce”).

Pronunciation

• 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”, 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

• fierce

Related terms

• ferity
• ferocity
• fierce
• feral

Translations

Marked by extreme and violent energy

Armenian: վայրագ (hy) (vayrag) Chamicuro: pchajtoki Dutch: woest (nl), wild (nl) Esperanto: feroca (eo) Finnish: julma, raivokas, raivopäinen

French: féroce (fr) m. and f. Greek: βίαος m., βίαιη f., άγριος m., άγρια f. Ido: feroca (io) Russian: свирепый (ru) Spanish: feroz (es)

External links

• 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