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View synonyms for fierce

fierce

[ feers ]

adjective

, fierc·er, fierc·est.
  1. menacingly wild, savage, or hostile:

    fierce animals;

    a fierce look.

    Synonyms: murderous, bloodthirsty, barbarous, brutal, fell, cruel

    Antonyms: mild, tame

  2. violent in force, intensity, etc.:

    fierce winds.

    Synonyms: passionate, furious, turbulent

  3. furiously eager or intense:

    fierce competition.

    Synonyms: turbulent, passionate, furious

  4. extremely bad or severe:

    a fierce cold.



fierce

/ fɪəs /

adjective

  1. having a violent and unrestrained nature; savage

    a fierce dog

  2. wild or turbulent in force, action, or intensity

    a fierce storm

  3. vehement, intense, or strong

    fierce competition

  4. informal.
    very disagreeable or unpleasant
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈfierceness, noun
  • ˈfiercely, adverb
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Other Words From

  • fierce·ly adverb
  • fierce·ness noun
  • o·ver·fierce adjective
  • un·fierce adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fierce1

First recorded in 1300–1350; from Middle English fiers, fers, from Old French fiers, fers, from Latin ferus “wild, fierce”; feral 1, ferocious
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fierce1

C13: from Old French fiers , from Latin ferus
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Synonym Study

Fierce, ferocious, truculent suggest vehemence and violence of temper, manner, or action: fierce in repelling a foe. Ferocious implies fierceness or cruelty, especially of a bloodthirsty kind, in disposition or action: a ferocious glare; ferocious brutality toward helpless refugees. Truculent suggests an intimidating or bullying fierceness of manner or conduct: His truculent attitude kept them terrified and submissive.
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Example Sentences

Throughout the fifties, in city after city, fluoridation became the subject of fierce debate.

They had also come “to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.”

The organizers certainly appeared worried about plunging into the notoriously fierce world of London fashion and media.

“The competition is very fierce, we have very good competitors,” he told the Daily Beast.

I so loved the fierce bodily contact of football that I suppose my enthusiasm made up somewhat for my lack of size.

To others the fierce desire for social justice obliterates all fear of a general catastrophe.

The beauty, the mystery,—this fierce sunshine or something—stir——' She hesitated for a fraction of a second.

He breathed fierce and honest anathema on the heads of the bowelless fiends who had abandoned the babe to its doom.

It was a very dangerous one, too, and sometimes lives were sacrificed in his efforts to capture or to kill this fierce wild beast.

This harmless image of a fierce beast Yung Pak would pull about the floor with a string by the hour.

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