ferocity
/fəˈrɒsɪti
/noun (plural ferocities) [mass noun]
The state or quality of being ferocious: the ferocity of the storm caught them by surprise [count noun]: she hated him with a ferocity that astonished her...
- Yet we do need some sort of violent metaphor to bring home the length, ferocity and success of the campaign.
- And the frequency and ferocity of the current crop of storms is truly terrifying.
- The ferocity of that effort almost reduced the woodwork to rubble.
Synonyms
savagery, brutality, brutishness, barbarity, fierceness, violence, aggression, bloodthirstiness, murderousness;
ruthlessness, cruelty, pitilessness, mercilessness, heartlessness, inhumanity, sadism;
intensity, severity, extremity, force, strength
rare ferity
Origin
Mid 16th century: from French, or from Latin ferocitas, from ferox, feroc- 'fierce'.
Rhymes
- diffidently
- diffract
- diffraction
- diffraction grating
- diffractive
- diffractively
- diffractometer
- diffuse
- diffusely
- diffuseness
- diffuser
- diffusible
- diffusion
- diffusional
- diffusionism
- diffusionist
- diffusion line
- diffusion range
- diffusive
- diffusivity
- diffusor
- différance
- dig
- dig a hole for oneself (or dig oneself into a hole)
- Digambara