ferocious
adjective
fe·ro·cious
fə-ˈrō-shəs 
1
: exhibiting or given to extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality
a ferocious predator
the ferocious butchery of women and children
2
: extremely intense
ferocious heat
The competition among the students was ferocious.
ferociously
adverb
ferociousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of ferocious in a Sentence
A ferocious wind swept the beach.
The competition among the students was ferocious.
Recent Examples on the Web
It was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, which spread at ferocious speeds in high winds, eventually destroying more than 9,000 houses and buildings around Altadena, Calif.
—
Lauren Sommer, NPR, 23 Jan. 2025
Hudson’s father, Cecil, a logger, had a ferocious temper that scared even his own parents, who lived nearby.
—Eileen Finan, People.com, 18 Jan. 2025
In the days after the fire, Anthony C. Marrone, the Los Angeles County fire chief, hammered the same message over and over: The flames were too ferocious and the winds too intense to stop the infernos of Tuesday night, Jan. 7.
—Jonathan Wolfe, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The current mix of drought and ferocious winds have proved to be prime conditions for a major fire.
—Andrew Moseman, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for ferocious 
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Lauren Sommer, NPR, 23 Jan. 2025
Hudson’s father, Cecil, a logger, had a ferocious temper that scared even his own parents, who lived nearby.
—Eileen Finan, People.com, 18 Jan. 2025
In the days after the fire, Anthony C. Marrone, the Los Angeles County fire chief, hammered the same message over and over: The flames were too ferocious and the winds too intense to stop the infernos of Tuesday night, Jan. 7.
—Jonathan Wolfe, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The current mix of drought and ferocious winds have proved to be prime conditions for a major fire.
—Andrew Moseman, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for ferocious
Dictionary Entries Near ferocious
Cite this Entry
“Ferocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ferocious. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ferocious
adjective
fe·ro·cious
fə-ˈrō-shəs
1
2
: very great : extreme
ferocious heat
ferociously
adverb
ferociousness
noun
ferocity
noun
fə-ˈräs-ət-ē
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