different between cantankerous vs ferocious

English

Etymology

Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kæn?tæ?k???s/, /k?n?tæ?k???s/

Adjective

cantankerous (comparative more cantankerous, superlative most cantankerous)

1. Given to or marked by an ill-tempered nature; ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby.

Usage notes

Note: cantankerous is generally used to describe an unpleasant elderly person in a slightly pejorative manner. However, the term can be used to people in general, livestock, and machinery as well.

Synonyms

• cranky
• grouchy
• grumpy
• ornery
• surly
• truculent

Derived terms

Translations

English

Etymology

Taken from Latin ferox (“wild, bold, savage, fierce”) (with the suffix -ous), from ferus (“wild, savage, fierce”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f???????s/
• Rhymes: -????s

Adjective

ferocious (comparative more ferocious, superlative most ferocious)

1. Marked by extreme and violent energy.
   • 1975, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift [Avon ed., 1976, p. 376]:

     But it seemed to me that there were few faces like his, with the ferocious profile that brought to mind the Latin word rapax or one of Rouault's crazed death-dealing arbitrary kings.
2. Extreme or intense.

Synonyms

• fierce

Derived terms

• ferociously

Related terms

• ferity
• ferocity
• fierce
• feral

Translations

Further reading

• ferocious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ferocious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• ferocious at OneLook Dictionary Search