adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a bitter/fierce dispute (= very angry )
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It caused a bitter dispute between the neighbouring republics.
a fierce competitor (= very strong )
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He had prepared his daughter to be a fierce competitor.
a fierce fight
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There was a fierce fight with rebel forces and several soldiers were killed.
a fierce gale (= a very strong wind )
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The tree was blown down during a fierce gale in 1987.
a fierce whisper
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‘Let me go!’ she said in a fierce whisper.
a fierce/bitter clash (= involving violence and strong feelings )
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Fierce clashes swept across Bosnia and Croatia.
a fierce/bitter opponent (= a very strong opponent, who often expresses their opinions angrily )
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She became well-known as a bitter opponent of slavery.
a furious/fierce argument
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As soon as she had gone a furious argument broke out.
a heated/fierce debate (= in which people express strong opinions in an angry way )
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There has been a fierce debate over the way the war was fought.
a severe/violent/fierce storm
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He set out in a violent storm for Fort William.
deep/fierce (= very great )
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The people of the village had a deep desire for revenge.
deep/great/fierce anger
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There is deep anger against the occupying forces.
fierce controversy (= very great )
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This question has been at the centre of a fierce controversy.
fierce determination (= involving strong feelings )
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They fought with fierce determination.
fierce resistance
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Endeavours to change their religion had provoked fierce resistance.
fierce/bitter/harsh/sharp criticism (= involving angry feelings )
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The prison system has been the object of fierce criticism.
fierce/intense loyalty
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She was touched by her friend's fierce loyalty.
fierce/intense/stiff opposition (= strong opposition )
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It is certain that there will be fierce opposition to the changes.
stiff//tough/fierce/intense/keen competition (= strong competition )
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There is stiff competition for places at the best universities.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
as
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The competiton was as fierce and as gruelling as ever.
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Other parts of the battlefield saw Confederate attacks nearly as fierce as this one.
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Familiar and wry, but just as fierce in its own way.
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The weather was as fierce as anyone could remember.
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There followed as fierce and nasty a little campaign as I can remember in the time I spent with the health service.
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But be warned: The battle scenes are as fierce and brutal as the reality of bladed warfare.
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But that tension has never been as fierce as it is today.
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And he is as fierce a believer in civil rights as a white man in the Delta can be.
so
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I did not notice the weather or my surroundings at all, I only wanted to know why he looked so fierce .
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The impact was so sudden and so fierce , it knocked me out cold.
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Surely it must be the sun in his eyes that made him look so fierce ?
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What she has got is a hunger so fierce it scares people away.
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The church door was rattling insanely and nothing could be seen through the windows, so fierce was the rain.
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It was so sudden and so fierce that she could not deny it.
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But the winds became so fierce that the whole forest shook.
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I took the cliff road and the wind could be so fierce that it blew me off my bike more than once.
very
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He could be very fierce in pursuit of his ideals.
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There followed a very fierce dispute between the Ancients and the Moderns.
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He looked very fierce always, even though his eyes were glass.
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He looked exhausted, and hungry, and very fierce .
■ NOUN
argument
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Inevitably, this attempt to define the most powerful school of art since the war is going to lead to fierce arguments .
attack
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The government was blamed and its tariff and trade policies came under fierce attack .
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The fiercest attacks were directed not at Levin, but at Lautenberg, who was facing reelection the next year.
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Since the mid-1960s Walcott's views have come under fierce attack .
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Cannon and his co-workers launched a fierce attack on James.
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The conference's failure to set limits came under fierce attack from environmentalists.
battle
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Suddenly, it dredges up ghosts weighted down and buried in haste after a fierce battle .
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While Achilles stayed in his tent a fierce battle followed, the hardest yet fought.
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During the ensuing months, a fierce battle was raged.
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It is in their region, plus California, that Dole and Clinton probably will stage their fiercest battle for electoral votes.
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The fierce battle for Travnik was now over, the sources said.
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Lomb has been locked in a fierce battle with Johnson&038;.
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The requirement for large body size arises from the fierce battles between males for access to females.
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The invaders fought against Celtic-speaking inhabitants, who, after fierce battles , were overcome.
competition
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The first two impressions of the report sell out before publication, and there is fierce competition for the paperback rights.
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One reason is obvious: fierce competition from Microsoft.
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Members of larger cohorts experience fiercer competition throughout their lives for places in schools, university, employment, and promotion.
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But the retail revival will continue only for those companies that can deal with unprecedentedly fierce competition .
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There were few secondary schools in Rhodesia in the early 1950s so there was fierce competition for places.
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Remember, too, that he is hardly ever a monopolist: he works in fierce competition with fellow scalpers.
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Since the late 1980s, fierce competition has driven down rates.
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The fiercest competition of all, therefore, is between the rival television channels.
controversy
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And already it looks like stirring up fierce controversy .
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Accordingly, they have been the subject of intensive research and fierce controversy .
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The murder of anti-Soviet activists abroad would stir up fierce controversy at home.
critic
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The Government could breathe a sigh of relief at the disappearance of some of its fiercest critics .
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But now city officials find themselves embroiled in a battle with a fierce critic of the law: the Roman Catholic Church.
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Its fiercest critics , Jumblatt and Sfeir, have also been approached by the president.
criticism
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Mr Powell, 44, came in for fierce criticism when he replaced Terry Wogan with the £10 million drama.
debate
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Agreement was only reached following a fierce debate over the question of radioactive waste.
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These questions set off fierce debate among cleaning experts.
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This is a matter of fierce debate .
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As the deadline approached a fierce debate raged in the United States.
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The point is important, because conservation has recently become the subject of fierce debate .
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A fierce debate arose among those trying to respond to the unfavourable economic and social effects of occupation.
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But it was a long gestation, and a fierce debate still simmers about when and where the birth actually took place.
determination
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This was achieved by resolve, leadership and teamwork, coupled with a fierce determination not to be beaten.
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What they did not know about this roly-poly 46-year-old with the easy smile was his fierce determination .
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The look of fierce determination on her face soon made him laugh.
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What the little company did have was the vision and fierce determination of its leader, nuclear physicist John Robert Beyster.
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They fought with fierce determination on both sides.
fighting
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He said fierce fighting was taking place near Bahdu and insisted I would need at least a hundred soldiers if I went there.
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On the following day there was fierce fighting at the television station and the building was partially destroyed by fire.
loyalty
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As with any isolated and largely self-contained community the agricultural village was often the object of a fierce loyalty among its inhabitants.
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Residents are still proud of their city, and that fierce loyalty defines the team and its fans.
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Sutton's energy and commitment had bound the people on the Wapping Post together with fierce loyalty to each other and their publication.
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The MACs are tightly guarded and seem to engender fierce loyalty in their users.
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I appreciate your fierce loyalty to it.
opposition
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There is the fierce opposition voiced by Col.
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The levy, which began on January 1, has met with fierce opposition from the trade unions.
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Initial reports that the bond was to be fixed at £10,000 stirred fierce opposition to the scheme.
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Yet live Monday games attracted fierce opposition from many Football League managers.
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Expansion of either now faces fierce opposition from environmentalists.
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Boris Yeltsin considered such measures, but was stopped by the fierce opposition of vested interests.
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And they have warned the Government that any attempt to impose cuts will be met with fierce opposition .
resistance
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The promotion of women ran into fierce resistance , which led to persistent and quite unacceptable forms of discrimination.
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We can no longer afford this attitude, in an age of fierce resistance to taxes.
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Overseen by evangelist monks Charlemagne's conquering Franks meet fierce resistance from Saxon tribesmen.
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The rebels have put up fierce resistance with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.
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None the less, the employers were intent on fierce resistance .
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True, bolder challenges to orthodoxy, especially when they touched upon the role played by the party, provoked fierce resistance .
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Hence the fierce resistance among the professionals to limited liability.
rivalry
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The consequence has been fierce rivalry between the two in all areas.
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In spite of the fierce rivalry between the two players the decision to agree a draw was marked by a sporting handshake.
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They did so, in the main, by mutual agreement, despite the simultaneous fierce rivalries .
row
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But in the past few weeks some unusually fierce rows have suggested that it could fall apart.
shot
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After a flash of Hendrie's skill on the byeline, Paul Wilkinson's fierce shot was blocked by Robinson.
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Eranio played a one-two with Marco Simone then struck a fierce shot which goalkeeper Vitor Baia hardly saw.
storm
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Then one day Johnny Appleseed got caught in a fierce storm .
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That very night a fierce storm broke over the sea.
wind
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Fears of large-scale coastal flooding were averted as the fierce winds shifted at the last minute.
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Then a fierce wind howled through the forest and over the camps, spreading alarm everywhere.
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And they couldn't have chosen a better day; brilliant blue skies and fierce winds .
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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It was one of the region's fiercest storms in years.
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Rogers is a young player with a fierce love for the game.
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Swans are always fierce in defence of their young.
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The fiercest fighting took place in the West Woods.
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The dog was standing at the gave, looking fierce and growling.
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The peregrine falcon is one of nature's fiercest predators.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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From $ 20 to $ 35, competition is fierce .
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Initial reports that the bond was to be fixed at £10,000 stirred fierce opposition to the scheme.
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The blare from the horns and the shouting from nearby drivers and pedestrians waiting to cross was both fierce and ugly.
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The Government could breathe a sigh of relief at the disappearance of some of its fiercest critics.
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They are fierce and noble warriors and though the dragons are few they can still rouse some in times of great need.
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Two fierce eyes glared at the terror-stricken sailors.