ferocious

[fuh-roh-shuh s] /fəˈroʊ ʃəs/

adjective

savagely fierce, as a wild beast, person, action, or aspect; violently cruel:

a ferocious beating.

extreme or intense:

a ferocious thirst.

Origin

1640-50; < Latin ferōc-, stem of ferōx savage, fierce (fer(us) wild (see feral¹, fierce) + -ōx having such an appearance; akin to -opsis) + -ious

Related forms

ferociously, adverb

ferociousness, noun

nonferocious, adjective

nonferociously, adverb

nonferociousness, noun

unferocious, adjective

unferociously, adverb

Synonyms

1. rapacious. See fierce.

Examples from the web for ferocious

Kudzu, the ferocious invasive vine, has wrestled some now-deserted neighborhoods to the ground.
What it wants is an explanation, which you feel will free you in some way-if only from the grip of your ferocious waiting.
When another scientist then challenges the hypothesis, they can be pretty ferocious in their reactions.
Again, the ferocious rhetoric belies the mundane reality.
The ferocious-seeming federal statutes were almost entirely for show.
The self-effacing but ferocious player never stands pat.
The groom turned, took four paces, and heard a ferocious whoosh behind him.
The ferocious waters spared him but killed his parents and his fiancé.
With its jawless toothy mouth adapted to suck the blood of fish, the sea lamprey is a ferocious parasite.
Your lion would likely be covered in the blood of your enemy and thus be looking pretty ferocious.

British Dictionary definitions for ferocious

/fəˈrəʊʃəs/

adjective

savagely fierce or cruel: a ferocious tiger, a ferocious argument

Derived Forms

ferociously, adverb
ferocity (fəˈrɒsɪtɪ), ferociousness, noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin ferox fierce, untamable, warlike

Word Origin and History for ferocious

adj.

1640s, from Latin ferocis, oblique case of ferox "fierce, wild-looking" (see ferocity). Related: Ferociously; ferociousness.