different between ferocious vs menacing

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

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?n?s??/
• Hyphenation: men?acing

Adjective

menacing (comparative more menacing, superlative most menacing)

1. Suggesting imminent harm.
2. Threatening.

Translations

Verb

menacing

1. present participle of menace

Translations

Noun

menacing (plural menacings)

1. The act of making menaces or threats.
   • 1824-1826, William Cobbett, History of the Protestant Reformation

     They remember his subornings, menacings, bribings, cuttings, maimings, hangings, and burnings.