ferocity
/fəˈrɒsɪti
/noun (plural ferocities) [mass noun]
The state or quality of being ferocious: the ferocity of the storm caught them by surprise [count noun]: she hated him with a ferocity that astonished her...
- Yet we do need some sort of violent metaphor to bring home the length, ferocity and success of the campaign.
- And the frequency and ferocity of the current crop of storms is truly terrifying.
- The ferocity of that effort almost reduced the woodwork to rubble.
Synonyms
savagery, brutality, brutishness, barbarity, fierceness, violence, aggression, bloodthirstiness, murderousness;
ruthlessness, cruelty, pitilessness, mercilessness, heartlessness, inhumanity, sadism;
intensity, severity, extremity, force, strength
rare ferity
Origin
Mid 16th century: from French, or from Latin ferocitas, from ferox, feroc- 'fierce'.
Rhymes
- postal tube
- postal union
- post-alveolar
- postal vote
- post-amble
- postament
- postanal
- post-and-beam
- post and pair
- post and rail
- post-and-rail tea
- postantennal
- post-apocalyptic
- post-apostolic
- post-Armistice
- post-article
- postarytenoid
- postauditory
- postauricular
- postaxial
- postaxially
- postbag
- post bail
- post-Bang
- postbase