Ferocious means frighteningly fierce and violent. A ferocious dog, ferocious heat, a ferocious attack.
It works for animals, weather, criticism and appetites alike — a ferocious storm, a ferocious appetite — and in all of them the force is what matters rather than the malice. It is a step above fierce. Note ferociously, ferocity; and that feral, ferocious and fierce all come from Latin ferus, wild, which is also where the Latin for a wild beast, fera, comes from.
1adjectiveferociousFrighteningly fierce and violent.
“The dog gave a ferocious bark and threw itself against the gate.”
synonyms: savage, fierce
ferocious is a quality of fierceness.
Also accepted in games: savage
Latin ferox means wild or bold, from ferus, wild. Fierce, feral and ferocity come from the same wildness, so ferocious is untamed rather than cruel.
Proto-Indo-European
*ǵʰwer-
Latin
ferōx — wild, bold, savage, fierce
English, today
ferocious
Taken from Latin ferōx (“wild, bold, savage, fierce”) -ous.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA