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Ferocious - 3 dictionary results

fe⋅ro⋅cious

  [fuh-roh-shuhs]
Use Ferocious in a Sentence
–adjective
1. savagely fierce, as a wild beast, person, action, or aspect; violently cruel: a ferocious beating.
2. extreme or intense: a ferocious thirst.
Origin:
1640–50; < L ferōc-, s. of ferōx savage, fierce (fer(us) wild (see feral 1 , fierce ) + -ōx having such an appearance; akin to -opsis ) + -ious

Related forms:
fe⋅ro⋅cious⋅ly, adverb
fe⋅ro⋅cious⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. rapacious. See fierce.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fe·ro·cious   (fə-rō'shəs)   
adj.  
  1. Extremely savage; fierce. See Synonyms at cruel.
  2. Marked by unrelenting intensity; extreme: ferocious heat.

[From Latin ferōx, ferōc-, fierce; see ghwer- in Indo-European roots.]
fe·ro'cious·ly adv., fe·ro'cious·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ferocious

Fe*ro"cious\, a. [L. ferox, -ocis, fierce: cf. F. f['e]roce. See Ferocity.] Fierce; savage; wild; indicating cruelty; ravenous; rapacious; as, ferocious look or features; a ferocious lion.

The humbled power of a ferocious enemy. --Lowth.

Syn: Ferocious, Fierce, Savage, Barbarous.

Usage: When these words are applied to human feelings or conduct, ferocious describes the disposition; fierce, the haste and violence of an act; barbarous, the coarseness and brutality by which it was marked; savage, the cruel and unfeeling spirit which it showed. A man is ferocious in his temper, fierce in his actions, barbarous in the manner of carrying out his purposes, savage in the spirit and feelings expressed in his words or deeds. -- Fe*ro"cious*ly, adv. -- Fe*ro"cious*ness, n.

It [Christianity] has adapted the ferociousness of war. --Blair.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Ferocious
Spanish: feroz,
German: wild,
Japanese: どう猛な
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