FEROCIOUS Synonyms: 220 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'ferocious' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of ferocious are barbarous , cruel , fierce , and savage . While all these words mean "showing fury or malignity in looks or actions," ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality. // a ferocious dog

Q: When is 'barbarous' a more appropriate choice than 'ferocious'?

Although the words barbarous and ferocious have much in common, barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people. // barbarous treatment of prisoners

Q: When can 'cruel' be used instead of 'ferocious'?

While the synonyms cruel and ferocious are close in meaning, cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it. // the cruel jokes of schoolboys

Q: Where would 'fierce' be a reasonable alternative to 'ferocious'?

The meanings of fierce and ferocious largely overlap; however, fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack. // fierce warriors

Q: When would 'savage' be a good substitute for 'ferocious'?

In some situations, the words savage and ferocious are roughly equivalent. However, savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion. // a savage criminal

ferocious

adjective

fə-ˈrō-shəs

Definition of ferocious next

as in intense

extreme in degree, power, or effect the ferocious appetite that athletic teenagers have been known to display

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as in fierce

marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity ferocious forest fires threatened to destroy hundreds of homes in the scrubland

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as in savage

violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition the animal is known as a ferocious predator

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as in frantic

marked by great and often stressful excitement or activity after a day of ferocious up-and-down trading, the stock market ended up down 300 points

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word ferocious different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of ferocious are barbarous, cruel, fierce, and savage. While all these words mean "showing fury or malignity in looks or actions," ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.

a ferocious dog

When is barbarous a more appropriate choice than ferocious?

Although the words barbarous and ferocious have much in common, barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people.

barbarous treatment of prisoners

When can cruel be used instead of ferocious?

While the synonyms cruel and ferocious are close in meaning, cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it.

the cruel jokes of schoolboys

Where would fierce be a reasonable alternative to ferocious?

The meanings of fierce and ferocious largely overlap; however, fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack.

fierce warriors

When would savage be a good substitute for ferocious?

In some situations, the words savage and ferocious are roughly equivalent. However, savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion.

a savage criminal

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ferocious In September, Israel stepped up its campaign against the Lebanese militant group, assassinating its top brass and launching a ferocious aerial and ground operation into southern Lebanon, which forced Hezbollah to abandon its condition for a ceasefire. —

Mostafa Salem, CNN, 30 Nov. 2024 Found throughout Botswana, honey badgers are famously ferocious. —

Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024 Read More: These 6 Animals Live at the Highest Altitudes on the Planet The Impact of Everest’s Extreme Climate The winds in the death zone can be ferocious. —

Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 25 Nov. 2024 The grandeur and might of ancient Rome was on full display in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, a historical epic that starred Russell Crowe as ferocious gladiator Maximus. —

Emily Zemler, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ferocious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ferocious

Adjective

The warm front is a sharp contrast to the close of last week when an arctic surge swept across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with snow squalls, whiteouts and intense bursts of wind that left 20 million Americans under winter weather warnings or advisories.

Susan Miller, USA TODAY, 9 Dec. 2024
Becoming a professor requires years and years of intense study, often carried out in isolation and poverty.

Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024