fierce 
fierce (firs)
adjective fierc′er, fierc′·est
- of a violently cruel nature; savage; wild a fierce dog
- violent; uncontrolled a fierce storm
- intensely eager; intense; ardent a fierce embrace
- ☆ Informal very distasteful, disagreeable, bad, etc.
Etymology: ME fers < OFr fers, fier < L ferus, wild, savage < IE base *hwer-, wild animal > Gr thēr, animal
fierce
modif.
Said especially of people and animals
ferocious, wild, savage, furious, enraged, raging, impetuous, untamed, angry, passionate, primitive, uncivilized, brutish, feral, animal, raving, terrible, frightening, fearsome, menacing, awful, venomous, bold, malevolent, malign, brutal, cruel, merciless, ruthless, bloodthirsty, bloody, murderous, sanguinary, truculent, aggressive, hostile, violent, monstrous, rough, grim, vicious, dangerous, frenzied, mad, insane, desperate, ravening, frantic, wrathful, irate, rabid, virulent, fanatical, bestial, tigerish, barbarous, hard*, tough*, hard-boiled*; see also sense 2.Antonyms
gentle*, tame, peaceful*. Said especially of actions and the weather
boisterous, violent, vehement, threatening, severe, stormy, thunderous, howling, inclement, tumultuous, turbulent, uncontrolled, unbridled, unrestrained, raging, storming, blustering, cyclonic, blizzardy, torrential, of hurricane force, frightful, fearful, lowering, destructive, devastating, hellish, rip-roaring*; see also sense 1.Antonyms
mild*, moderate, calm. Intense
ardent, fervent, deep, acute; see intense.
Modifies a noun
- fighting: However, fierce fighting broke out again in May.
- rivalry: There will be fierce local rivalry in the South West.
- competition: There is fierce competition for the best shaped rocks on which to make their homes.
- opposition: Britain is likely to follow the French lead in the teeth of fierce opposition.
- battle: The two sides have begun a fierce lobbying battle on this issue.
- rival: With an FA Cup semi-final looming against fierce rivals Arsenal, you would have thought that all would be best left alone.
Modifying Another Word
- increasingly: Competition in terms of overall national strength is becoming increasingly fierce.
- extremely: With 3 mobile operators in Algeria, the market competition is extremely fierce.
- pretty: If only... The weather was pretty fierce and we flirted with weather fronts in pursuit of the bowl.
- particularly: There's a scene in it featuring a particularly fierce hurricane visiting destruction on a small town.
- so: The headlong fortune of my rash captivity Strikes not so fierce a wound into my hopes As thy dear loss.
- quite: As a complete beginner the pace of learning was quite fierce during the first year.
Used with adjective complement
- grow: My longing grows for you grows fierce, Breathlessly, I await you.
- become: Competition in terms of overall national strength is becoming increasingly fierce.
- remain: The battle at the front remained as fierce as ever, as was the battle for third.
- look: He looked fierce, pushing his gray black eyebrows together over his nose.
- get: When the market opens up to international players, competition gets fierce.
Preposition: in
- market: Competition is fierce in the market to offer the cheap secured loans.
Preposition: for
- place: I was very excited at spending the four winters at the school but realized that the competition would be fierce for the places.
Preposition: than
- wolf: He goes on and says in verse 8, that they were more fierce than evening wolves.
If I were fierce and bald and short of breath I'd live with scarlet Majors at the Base, And speed glum heroes up the line to death.
O Swallow, Swallow, flying, flying South, Fly to her, and fall upon her gilded eaves, And tell her, tell her, what I tell to thee. O tell her, Swallow, thou that knowest each, That bright and fierce and fickle is the South, And dark and true and tender is the North.
Browse dictionary entries near fierce
- ‹ fiendish
- ‹ fiend
- ‹ fieldwork
- ‹ fieldstrip
- ‹ fieldstone
- ‹ fieldsman
- ‹ Fields
- ‹ fieldpiece
- ‹ fielding average
- ‹ Fielding
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