ferocious
/fəˈrəʊʃəs
/adjective
1Savagely fierce, cruel, or violent: a ferocious beast a ferocious battle...
- The animal is a most ferocious and savage looking one.
- She was a ferocious, fierce soldier, one who would go far.
- The latter wild and ferocious creatures are so dangerous they have to be anaesthetised fully for Liam to work on them.
Synonyms
fierce, savage, wild, feral, untamed;
predatory, rapacious, ravening, aggressive, dangerous
brutal, brutish, vicious, violent, bloody, barbarous, barbaric, savage, sadistic, ruthless, remorseless, cruel, pitiless, merciless, heartless, bloodthirsty, murderous, tigerish, wolfish;
wicked, inhuman, monstrous, abominable, fiendish, hellish, diabolical
British informal beastly
literary fell
archaic sanguinary
1.1 informal Very great; extreme: a ferocious headache...
- He also paid tribute to the work of London Fire Brigade in tackling the blaze and rescuing three of the children in extremely ferocious conditions.
- She leaned back for a moment to accept everything, a ferocious headache on its way.
- Sustained rain and ferocious winds caused severe weather conditions across Cumbria overnight on Friday, some of the worst the region has seen for decades.
Synonyms
intense, extreme, strong, powerful, fierce, burning, searing;
severe, acute, unbearable, insufferable, hellish, diabolical
Derivatives
ferociousness
/ noun ...- The battle to save the environment, if there is to be a successful one, will require extreme ferociousness and bravery coupled with extreme strategic intelligence.
- Fur seals can look adorable, but have grown a reputation on board for ferociousness.
- Listening to the music now, or any time in the last ten or fifteen years, I am overwhelmed by the lack of ferociousness that I used to associate with the album.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin ferox, feroc- 'fierce' + -ious.