ferocious
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- fierce, predatory, rapacious, ravening, savage, violent, wild
- cruel, bloodthirsty, brutal, ruthless, vicious

---

Antonyms: tender
Related Words: rapacious, ravening, ravenous, voracious, implacable, relentless

---

English Thesaurus: violent, vicious, rough, brutal, savage, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

fe‧ro‧cious /fəˈrəʊʃəs $ -ˈroʊ-/ adjective
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: ferox 'wild-looking', from ferus 'wild']

1. violent, dangerous, and frightening Synonym : fierce:
a ferocious, hungry lion
a ferocious battle
The storm grew more and more ferocious with each second.

2. very strong, severe, and unpleasant Synonym : fierce:
The congressman is one of the President’s most ferocious critics.
The heat was ferocious.
He is famous for his ferocious temper.

3. relating to an emotion that is felt very strongly Synonym : fierce:
Parker was driven by a ferocious determination to succeed.
—ferociously adverb

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

violent /ˈvaɪələnt/ using force to hurt or kill people – used about people, crimes etc. Also used about films or books that contain a lot of violence:
a violent man who couldn’t control his temper
the increase in violent crime
The film is too violent to be shown to children.
vicious /ˈvɪʃəs/ violent and dangerous, and seeming to enjoy hurting people for no reason:
a vicious attack on an unarmed man
We were surrounded by a gang of vicious thugs, armed with knives.
rough /rʌf/ using force or violence, but not causing serious injury:
Some of the boys were being a bit rough with the younger kids.
There were complaints about rough treatment by the police.
brutal /ˈbruːtl/ behaving in a way that is very cruel and violent, and showing no pity:
Idi Amin was a brutal dictator.
a particularly brutal murder
The prison guards were brutal and corrupt.
savage /ˈsævɪdʒ/ attacking people in a particularly cruel way – used about people and fighting, especially in news reports:
a savage killer
There was savage fighting in the capital Mogadishu.
bloody a bloody battle or war is very violent and a lot of people are killed or injured:
a bloody civil war
The Russians were engaged in a bloody battle against the German army.
ferocious /fəˈrəʊʃəs/ a ferocious attack or battle is extremely violent. Also used about animals that are likley to attack in a very violent way:
The two armies fought a ferocious battle.
a ferocious beast
It was the most ferocious attack I have ever seen.
fierce a fierce animal or person looks frightening and likely to attack people:
A fierce dog stood growling at the gate.
Bears are always fierce when they have young.
fierce bodyguards
bloodthirsty a bloodthirsty person enjoys watching violence. A bloodthirsty story contains a lot of violent scenes:
In Mexico, humans were sacrificed to bloodthirsty gods.
a bloodthirsty tale of revenge
gory showing or describing injuries, blood, death etc clearly and in detail:
a gory horror movie
The book was too gory for many readers.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲