different between eager vs fierce

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?i??/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?i???/
• Rhymes: -i???(?)

Etymology 1

From Middle English egre, eger, from Old French egre (French aigre), from Latin acer (“sharp, keen”); see acid, acerb, etc. Compare vinegar, alegar.

Alternative forms

• aigre (obsolete)
• eagre (obsolete)

Adjective

eager (comparative more eager, superlative most eager)

1. Desirous; keen to do or obtain something.
   • 1887, John Keble, s:The Christian Year

     When to her eager lips is brought / Her infant's thrilling kiss.

   • a crowd of eager and curious schoolboys
2. (computing theory) Not employing lazy evaluation; calculating results immediately, rather than deferring calculation until they are required.

   an eager algorithm

3. (dated) Brittle; inflexible; not ductile.

   • gold itself will be sometimes so eager, (as artists call it), that it will as little endure the hammer as glass itself

4. (obsolete) Sharp; sour; acid.
5. (obsolete) Sharp; keen; bitter; severe.

Synonyms

• keen
• raring
• fain (archaic)

Derived terms

• eager beaver
• eagerly
• eagerness

Translations

Etymology 2

See eagre.

Noun

eager (plural eagers)

1. Alternative form of eagre (tidal bore).

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• aeger, agree, eagre, geare, æger

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /f??s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /f??s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)s

Adjective

fierce (comparative fiercer, superlative fiercest)

1. Exceedingly violent, severe, ferocious, cruel or savage.

   A fierce storm battered the coast.

   I felt a fierce loyalty to my family.

2. Resolute or strenuously active.

   We made a fierce attempt to escape.

3. Threatening in appearance or demeanor.

   The lion gave a fierce roar.

4. (slang, Ireland, rural) Excellent, very good.

   Q: "How was the party last night?" A: "Fierce!"

5. (slang, US, LGBT, fashion) Of exceptional quality, exhibiting boldness or chutzpah.

   Tyra said to strike a pose and make it fierce.

Synonyms

• (exceedingly violent): incessive
• (threatening in appearance or demeanor): incessive

Derived terms

• fiercely
• fierceness
• something fierce

Related terms

• feral
• ferocious

Translations

Adverb

fierce (not comparable)

1. (slang, Ireland, rural) Extremely; very.

   It was fierce cold last night.

References

• fierce at OneLook Dictionary Search
• fierce in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Recife