different between impassioned vs fierce

English

Alternative forms

• empassioned [16th-18th c.]

Etymology

From impassion +? -ed.

Adjective

impassioned (comparative more impassioned, superlative most impassioned)

1. Filled with intense emotion or passion; fervent.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.9:

     She was empassioned at that piteous act, / With zealous envy of the Greekes cruell fact / Against that nation […]

   • 1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, VI:

     The tears fell fast from the maiden's eyes as she closed her impassioned appeal, and hid her face in the bosom of her sister.

Translations

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