ferocity

[ fuh-ros-i-tee ]

noun

1. a ferocious quality or state; savage fierceness.

Other Word Forms

• nonfe·roci·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferocity¹

1600–10; < Latin ferōcitās, equivalent to ferōc-, stem of ferōx ferocious + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

Marrone has repeatedly said that fire crews were overwhelmed by the scale and ferocity of the conflagration, as firefighters were spread thin battling three different blazes across the county.

From Los Angeles Times

They see him rebounding with the frequency and ferocity of a 7-foot center.

From Los Angeles Times

It has no direct English equivalent, but conveys a tenacity, ferocity and determination that past French sides have perhaps lacked.

From BBC

Donald Trump and his administration and its enforcers are only going to increase the rapidity and ferocity of their efforts to remake American society in service to their revolutionary project.

From Salon

They had an intensity about them from the first whistle, a ferocity at the breakdown and a sharpness in a backline playing flat and with menace.

From BBC