fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack.
fierce warriors
ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.
a ferocious dog
barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people.
barbarous treatment of prisoners
savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion.
a savage criminal
cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it.
the cruel jokes of schoolboys
Example Sentences
a monarch resorting to whatever barbarous means he deemed necessary to protect his throne an aunt who abhors barbarous behavior such as eating with your fingers
Recent Examples on the WebIf the American Civil War ended the barbarous inhumanity of slavery, and the English Civil War restrained monarchical power, what did the Russian Civil War achieve? Douglas Smith, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2022 The difference between early colonial law and British law is made clear in the prohibition on the one hand of bodily punishments that are inhumane, barbarous, or cruel, and on the other hand, the sort of death that would be suffered by Peters. Marilynne Robinson, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022 The resonance and immediacy of these barbarous 19th-century events are testament to Zhang’s storytelling powers, and should stand as a warning to all of us.New York Times, 3 Apr. 2022 The pontiff reiterated his condemnation of war as barbarous and sacrilegious.NBC News, 27 Mar. 2022 Nevertheless, this is where Democratic extremism has taken the party, and this foolhardy vote tonight will do Americans the favor of exposing exactly how committed national Democrats are to this barbarous position. Alexandra Desanctis, National Review, 28 Feb. 2022 From Santiago to Sydney and Sacramento, from Tokyo and Taipei to Tel Aviv, protesters have raged at Vladimir Putin for his barbarous campaign to conquer Ukraine. Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2022 Iconic images of the accused being burned alive were deployed in the propaganda wars that cast the Black struggle, depending on the teller, as either barbarous or suffused with its own fearsome justice.New York Times, 26 Dec. 2021 People dismiss gold as a barbarous relic and governments de-emphasize its importance as a relic. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Latin barbarus, from Greek barbaros foreign, ignorant