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What is "fierce"

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fierce
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
fierce
adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a bitter/fierce dispute (=very angry)
▪ It caused a bitter dispute between the neighbouring republics.
a fierce competitor (=very strong)
▪ He had prepared his daughter to be a fierce competitor.
a fierce fight
▪ There was a fierce fight with rebel forces and several soldiers were killed.
a fierce gale (=a very strong wind)
▪ The tree was blown down during a fierce gale in 1987.
a fierce whisper
▪ ‘Let me go!’ she said in a fierce whisper.
a fierce/bitter clash (=involving violence and strong feelings)
▪ Fierce clashes swept across Bosnia and Croatia.
a fierce/bitter opponent (=a very strong opponent, who often expresses their opinions angrily)
▪ She became well-known as a bitter opponent of slavery.
a furious/fierce argument
▪ As soon as she had gone a furious argument broke out.
a heated/fierce debate (=in which people express strong opinions in an angry way)
▪ There has been a fierce debate over the way the war was fought.
a severe/violent/fierce storm
▪ He set out in a violent storm for Fort William.
deep/fierce (=very great)
▪ The people of the village had a deep desire for revenge.
deep/great/fierce anger
▪ There is deep anger against the occupying forces.
fierce controversy (=very great)
▪ This question has been at the centre of a fierce controversy.
fierce determination (=involving strong feelings)
▪ They fought with fierce determination.
fierce resistance
▪ Endeavours to change their religion had provoked fierce resistance.
fierce/bitter/harsh/sharp criticism (=involving angry feelings)
▪ The prison system has been the object of fierce criticism.
fierce/intense loyalty
▪ She was touched by her friend's fierce loyalty.
fierce/intense/stiff opposition (=strong opposition)
▪ It is certain that there will be fierce opposition to the changes.
stiff//tough/fierce/intense/keen competition (=strong competition)
▪ There is stiff competition for places at the best universities.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
as
▪ The competiton was as fierce and as gruelling as ever.
▪ Other parts of the battlefield saw Confederate attacks nearly as fierce as this one.
▪ Familiar and wry, but just as fierce in its own way.
▪ The weather was as fierce as anyone could remember.
▪ There followed as fierce and nasty a little campaign as I can remember in the time I spent with the health service.
▪ But be warned: The battle scenes are as fierce and brutal as the reality of bladed warfare.
▪ But that tension has never been as fierce as it is today.
▪ And he is as fierce a believer in civil rights as a white man in the Delta can be.
so
▪ I did not notice the weather or my surroundings at all, I only wanted to know why he looked so fierce.
▪ The impact was so sudden and so fierce, it knocked me out cold.
▪ Surely it must be the sun in his eyes that made him look so fierce?
▪ What she has got is a hunger so fierce it scares people away.
▪ The church door was rattling insanely and nothing could be seen through the windows, so fierce was the rain.
▪ It was so sudden and so fierce that she could not deny it.
▪ But the winds became so fierce that the whole forest shook.
▪ I took the cliff road and the wind could be so fierce that it blew me off my bike more than once.
very
▪ He could be very fierce in pursuit of his ideals.
▪ There followed a very fierce dispute between the Ancients and the Moderns.
▪ He looked very fierce always, even though his eyes were glass.
▪ He looked exhausted, and hungry, and very fierce.
■ NOUN
argument
▪ Inevitably, this attempt to define the most powerful school of art since the war is going to lead to fierce arguments.
attack
▪ The government was blamed and its tariff and trade policies came under fierce attack.
▪ The fiercest attacks were directed not at Levin, but at Lautenberg, who was facing reelection the next year.
▪ Since the mid-1960s Walcott's views have come under fierce attack.
▪ Cannon and his co-workers launched a fierce attack on James.
▪ The conference's failure to set limits came under fierce attack from environmentalists.
battle
▪ Suddenly, it dredges up ghosts weighted down and buried in haste after a fierce battle.
▪ While Achilles stayed in his tent a fierce battle followed, the hardest yet fought.
▪ During the ensuing months, a fierce battle was raged.
▪ It is in their region, plus California, that Dole and Clinton probably will stage their fiercest battle for electoral votes.
▪ The fierce battle for Travnik was now over, the sources said.
▪ Lomb has been locked in a fierce battle with Johnson&038;.
▪ The requirement for large body size arises from the fierce battles between males for access to females.
▪ The invaders fought against Celtic-speaking inhabitants, who, after fierce battles, were overcome.
competition
▪ The first two impressions of the report sell out before publication, and there is fierce competition for the paperback rights.
▪ One reason is obvious: fierce competition from Microsoft.
▪ Members of larger cohorts experience fiercer competition throughout their lives for places in schools, university, employment, and promotion.
▪ But the retail revival will continue only for those companies that can deal with unprecedentedly fierce competition.
▪ There were few secondary schools in Rhodesia in the early 1950s so there was fierce competition for places.
▪ Remember, too, that he is hardly ever a monopolist: he works in fierce competition with fellow scalpers.
▪ Since the late 1980s, fierce competition has driven down rates.
▪ The fiercest competition of all, therefore, is between the rival television channels.
controversy
▪ And already it looks like stirring up fierce controversy.
▪ Accordingly, they have been the subject of intensive research and fierce controversy.
▪ The murder of anti-Soviet activists abroad would stir up fierce controversy at home.
critic
▪ The Government could breathe a sigh of relief at the disappearance of some of its fiercest critics.
▪ But now city officials find themselves embroiled in a battle with a fierce critic of the law: the Roman Catholic Church.
▪ Its fiercest critics, Jumblatt and Sfeir, have also been approached by the president.
criticism
▪ Mr Powell, 44, came in for fierce criticism when he replaced Terry Wogan with the £10 million drama.
debate
▪ Agreement was only reached following a fierce debate over the question of radioactive waste.
▪ These questions set off fierce debate among cleaning experts.
▪ This is a matter of fierce debate.
▪ As the deadline approached a fierce debate raged in the United States.
▪ The point is important, because conservation has recently become the subject of fierce debate.
▪ A fierce debate arose among those trying to respond to the unfavourable economic and social effects of occupation.
▪ But it was a long gestation, and a fierce debate still simmers about when and where the birth actually took place.
determination
▪ This was achieved by resolve, leadership and teamwork, coupled with a fierce determination not to be beaten.
▪ What they did not know about this roly-poly 46-year-old with the easy smile was his fierce determination.
▪ The look of fierce determination on her face soon made him laugh.
▪ What the little company did have was the vision and fierce determination of its leader, nuclear physicist John Robert Beyster.
▪ They fought with fierce determination on both sides.
fighting
▪ He said fierce fighting was taking place near Bahdu and insisted I would need at least a hundred soldiers if I went there.
▪ On the following day there was fierce fighting at the television station and the building was partially destroyed by fire.
loyalty
▪ As with any isolated and largely self-contained community the agricultural village was often the object of a fierce loyalty among its inhabitants.
▪ Residents are still proud of their city, and that fierce loyalty defines the team and its fans.
▪ Sutton's energy and commitment had bound the people on the Wapping Post together with fierce loyalty to each other and their publication.
▪ The MACs are tightly guarded and seem to engender fierce loyalty in their users.
▪ I appreciate your fierce loyalty to it.
opposition
▪ There is the fierce opposition voiced by Col.
▪ The levy, which began on January 1, has met with fierce opposition from the trade unions.
▪ Initial reports that the bond was to be fixed at £10,000 stirred fierce opposition to the scheme.
▪ Yet live Monday games attracted fierce opposition from many Football League managers.
▪ Expansion of either now faces fierce opposition from environmentalists.
▪ Boris Yeltsin considered such measures, but was stopped by the fierce opposition of vested interests.
▪ And they have warned the Government that any attempt to impose cuts will be met with fierce opposition.
resistance
▪ The promotion of women ran into fierce resistance, which led to persistent and quite unacceptable forms of discrimination.
▪ We can no longer afford this attitude, in an age of fierce resistance to taxes.
▪ Overseen by evangelist monks Charlemagne's conquering Franks meet fierce resistance from Saxon tribesmen.
▪ The rebels have put up fierce resistance with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.
▪ None the less, the employers were intent on fierce resistance.
▪ True, bolder challenges to orthodoxy, especially when they touched upon the role played by the party, provoked fierce resistance.
▪ Hence the fierce resistance among the professionals to limited liability.
rivalry
▪ The consequence has been fierce rivalry between the two in all areas.
▪ In spite of the fierce rivalry between the two players the decision to agree a draw was marked by a sporting handshake.
▪ They did so, in the main, by mutual agreement, despite the simultaneous fierce rivalries.
row
▪ But in the past few weeks some unusually fierce rows have suggested that it could fall apart.
shot
▪ After a flash of Hendrie's skill on the byeline, Paul Wilkinson's fierce shot was blocked by Robinson.
▪ Eranio played a one-two with Marco Simone then struck a fierce shot which goalkeeper Vitor Baia hardly saw.
storm
▪ Then one day Johnny Appleseed got caught in a fierce storm.
▪ That very night a fierce storm broke over the sea.
wind
▪ Fears of large-scale coastal flooding were averted as the fierce winds shifted at the last minute.
▪ Then a fierce wind howled through the forest and over the camps, spreading alarm everywhere.
▪ And they couldn't have chosen a better day; brilliant blue skies and fierce winds.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ It was one of the region's fiercest storms in years.
▪ Rogers is a young player with a fierce love for the game.
▪ Swans are always fierce in defence of their young.
▪ The fiercest fighting took place in the West Woods.
▪ The dog was standing at the gave, looking fierce and growling.
▪ The peregrine falcon is one of nature's fiercest predators.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ From $ 20 to $ 35, competition is fierce.
▪ Initial reports that the bond was to be fixed at £10,000 stirred fierce opposition to the scheme.
▪ The blare from the horns and the shouting from nearby drivers and pedestrians waiting to cross was both fierce and ugly.
▪ The Government could breathe a sigh of relief at the disappearance of some of its fiercest critics.
▪ They are fierce and noble warriors and though the dragons are few they can still rouse some in times of great need.
▪ Two fierce eyes glared at the terror-stricken sailors.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Fierce

Fierce \Fierce\, a. [Compar. Fiercer; superl. Fiercest.] [OE. fers, fiers, OF. fier, nom. fiers, fierce, savage, cruel, F. fier proud, from L. ferus wild, savage, cruel; perh. akin to E. bear the animal. Cf. Feral, Ferocity.]

  1. Furious; violent; unrestrained; impetuous; as, a fierce wind.

    His fierce thunder drove us to the deep.
    --Milton.

  2. Vehement in anger or cruelty; ready or eager to kill or injure; of a nature to inspire terror; ferocious. ``A fierce whisper.''
    --Dickens. ``A fierce tyrant.''
    --Pope.

    The fierce foe hung upon our broken rear.
    --Milton.

    Thou huntest me as a fierce lion.
    --Job. x. 16.

  3. Excessively earnest, eager, or ardent.

    Syn: Ferocious; savage; cruel; vehement; impetuous; barbarous; fell. See Ferocious. -- Fierce"ly, adv. -- Fierce"ness, n.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
fierce

mid-13c., "proud, noble, bold, haughty," from Old French fers, fiers, nominative form of fer, fier "strong, overwhelming, violent, fierce, wild; proud, mighty, great, impressive" (Modern French fier "proud, haughty"), from Latin ferus "wild, untamed, uncultivated; waste, desert;" figuratively "wild, uncultivated, savage, cruel," from PIE root *ghwer- "wild; wild animal" (cognates: Greek ther, Old Church Slavonic zveri, Lithuanian zveris "wild beast").\n

\nMeaning "ferocious, wild, savage, cruel" of persons is from c.1300; of beasts from late 14c. Original English sense of "brave, proud" died out 16c., but while this sense was current fierce often was used in English as an epithet (and thus surname), which accounts for the rare instance of a French word entering English in the nominative case. Related: Fiercely; fierceness. In Middle English sometimes also "dangerous, destructive; great, strong; huge (in number)." An early 15c. medical treatise has fers benes for "wild beans."

Wiktionary
fierce

a. 1 Extremely violent, severe, ferocious or savage. 2 resolute or strenuously active. 3 threaten in appearance or demeanor. 4 (context slang Ireland rural English) very, excellent. 5 (context slang US English) Of exceptional quality, exhibiting boldness or chutzpah.

Related phrases:
WordNet
fierce

  1. adj. marked by extreme and violent energy; "a ferocious beating"; "fierce fighting"; "a furious battle" [syn: ferocious, furious, savage]

  2. marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid; "fierce loyalty"; "in a tearing rage"; "vehement dislike"; "violent passions" [syn: tearing, vehement, violent, trigger-happy]

  3. ruthless in competition; "cutthroat competition"; "bowelless readiness to take advantage" [syn: cutthroat, bowelless]

  4. violently agitated and turbulent; "boisterous winds and waves"; "the fierce thunders roar me their music"- Ezra Pound; "rough weather"; "rough seas" [syn: boisterous, rough]

Wikipedia
Fierce

Fierce was a British three-piece, all girl R&B group. They were signed to Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar Records, and scored four hit singles on the UK Singles Chart in 1999 and 2000. The biggest of the hits, "Sweet Love 2K", was a cover of the Anita Baker song " Sweet Love".

Fierce (A&F fragrance)

Fierce (marketed in bold red-lettering as "FIERCE") is a men's fragrance by Abercrombie & Fitch. The cologne was first introduced in 2002. Today, Fierce is the signature scent of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand.

Abercrombie & Fitch has sold over $200 million USD of Fierce since 2002. A&F predict sales of Fierce to be at $90 million USD for fiscal 2009.

Originally packaged in red, the cologne in now encased in a gray box.

Fierce (disambiguation)

Fierce may refer to:

  • Fierce, a British R&B group
  • Fierce!, an international performance festival in Birmingham, UK
  • Fierce (A&F fragrance), a men's fragrance made by Abercrombie & Fitch
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "fierce".

It came to him with the force of a revelation that Cass excelled in everything she did, and that had she not married him all these talents would have died aborning This aroused in him a fierce protectiveness towards her which he had not suspected he possessed.

Then the courage came into his body, and with a great might he abraid upon his feet, and smote the black and yellow knight upon the helm by an overstroke so fierce that the sword sheared away the third part of his head, as it had been a rotten cheese.

The people hauled in to testify about why they voted absentee offered a vivid picture of the fierce loyalties, rough politics, and economic pressures that shaped the lives of Arkansas hill people.

The fierce Adelantado, finding himself surrounded by six assailants, who seemed to be directing their whole effort against his life, swung his sword in a berserk rage and slashed about him, to such good purpose that four or five of his assailants soon lay round him killed or wounded.

I was in despair, and I addressed to myself the fiercest reproaches, upbraiding myself as the cause of the death of that adorable creature.

How is it possible that any human mind could be persuaded that there has existed in the world that infinity of Amadises, and that throng of so many famous knights, so many emperors of Trebizond, so many Felixmartes of Hyrcania, so many palfreys and wandering damsels, so many serpents and dragons and giants, so many unparalleled adventures and different kinds of enchantments, so many battles and fierce encounters, so much splendid attire, so many enamored princesses and squires who are counts and dwarves who are charming, so many love letters, so much wooing, so many valiant women, and, finally, so many nonsensical matters as are contained in books of chivalry?

And I am thy champion and the fierce warrior afield, and that also is for thine helping.

A blast of heat swept up the stairs, so fierce that for a moment I thought it must have set my hair afire as I staggered backward into the kitchen.

Dasslerond yelled at him, and she seemed even more fierce than usual, for her golden hair was all aflutter from the tingling of his electrical burst.

Guy parried and backed away from a fierce series of attacks, then turned aggressor and forced Dante to back away from his blows.

Schools of tiny mullet and squid skipped this way and that in frenzied fear, snapped at by the fierce albacore below and the eager beaks of the birds.

Now, fierce, Sir Gui did curse the Fool amain, And, cursing, strove his dagger to regain.

But on certain nights, following fierce committee meetings at the Amalgamated Education Corporation, I must calm down by closing my eyes and reading the imaginary paper in imaginary Portuguese at length.

The Rillyti held their position, amphibian faces twisted in a fierce mask, yellow eyes clouded by a flashing nictitating membrane.

There began the fierce conflict of antagonistic ideas touching the respective powers of the State and of the Nation--a conflict which, transferred to a different theatre, found final solution only in the bloody arbitrament of arms.