fierce

Definition

Exceedingly violent, severe, ferocious, cruel or savage.

Etymology

From Middle English fers, fiers, borrowed from Old French fers (“wild", "ferocious”), nominative of fer, from Latin ferus (“wild", "untamed”).

Example Sentences

• "A fierce storm battered the coast."
• "Their fights with other members of their own kind were always preceded by loud and fierce waulings or savage snarling and snapping of teeth […]"
• "One constituent spent an hour educating me on the history of pit bulls: the Molossians, the Mastiffs; the Greeks, Romans, Brits, Tibetans, and Germans; the crossbreeds. A common theme ran throughout their history: they were the fiercest of fighters, and eventually bred to fight—in wars during antiquity, in dog fights for centuries. Regardless, they were again and again attacking other dogs and people."

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