fero

a. [ L. ferox, -ocis, fierce: cf. F. féroce. See Ferocity. ] Fierce; savage; wild; indicating cruelty; ravenous; rapacious; as, ferocious look or features; a ferocious lion. [ 1913 Webster ]

The humbled power of a ferocious enemy. Lowth.

Syn. -- Ferocious, Fierce, Savage, Barbarous. When these words are applied to human feelings or conduct, ferocious describes the disposition; fierce, the haste and violence of an act; barbarous, the coarseness and brutality by which it was marked; savage, the cruel and unfeeling spirit which it showed. A man is ferocious in his temper, fierce in his actions, barbarous in the manner of carrying out his purposes, savage in the spirit and feelings expressed in his words or deeds.

-- Fe*ro"cious*ly, adv. -- Fe*ro"cious*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the trait of extreme cruelty.
Syn. -- brutality, viciousness, savageness, savagery. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

It [ Christianity ] has adapted the ferociousness of war. Blair. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ferocitas, fr. ferox, -ocis, fierce, kin to ferus wild: cf. F. ferocité. See Fierce. ] Savage wildness or fierceness; fury; cruelty; as, ferocity of countenance. [ 1913 Webster ]

The pride and ferocity of a Highland chief. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. (Archæol.) A symbol of the solar deity, found on monuments exhumed in Babylon, Nineveh, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]