Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of being ferocious; ferocious or fierce character or disposition; savage wildness or fierceness; fury; cruelty: as, the ferocity of barbarians.
  • noun = Syn, Savageness, barbarity, inhumanity, ruthlessness, mercilessness, brutality.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Savage wildness or fierceness; fury; cruelty.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The condition of being ferocious.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the property of being wild or turbulent

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin ferox ("fierce"), from ferus ("wild, savage, fierce").

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Examples

  • And ferocity is required of Ree, since she is the only one who can keep disaster from her family's door.

    'Boxing Gym': A Bout With Human Nature Joe Morgenstern 2010

  • Anyone notice the increase in ferocity of these things this year?

    Salmon Fishery: Another Ecosystem on its Last Gasp « Colleen Anderson 2009

  • With dunks exceeded in ferocity only by the altitude of their apex, Wright lifted Dayton to heights not seen on its Ohio campus in nearly 20 years.

    USATODAY.com 2008

  • But she only redoubled in ferocity and ordered the slave girls to pinion my hands behind me, which they did; and, throwing me on my back, she seated herself on my middle and held down my head.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • In meteorological jargon, a perfect storm is one unsurpassed in ferocity and duration a description that fits the so-called Halloween Gale of October 1991 in the western Atlantic.

    The Perfect Storm: Summary and book reviews of The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger. 2000

  • Now, with all the agony of a war which increases clay by day in ferocity, beyond anything ever known before, surely we must be ready to mean what we say this time when we talk of preserving peace in the years to come.

    Target For Tomorrow 1945

  • He's worked on his blocking -- he said he had to develop some "ferocity" -- and he's quick enough to line up as a slot receiver.

    azcentral.com | news 2010

  • I also recall the ferocity of the werewolf, and his insatiable hatred for humankind while in that form.

    red dust Ryn Cricket 2010

  • My head wants to thank you for all of your pain, because after all this work, your ferocity will be my mane.

    Ode to “Lox” 2009

  • The Justice indeed did not call for a bottle to determine whether it should be peace or war, but he did that which answered the purpose as well; for, happening to use the word ferocity, Mrs. Butterfield’s brilliant apprehension immediately understood him to have complimented her with the expression of veracity.

    Ashton Priory Anonymous 1792

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