fiery
pronunciation
How to pronounce fiery in British English:
UK [ˈfaɪəri]
How to pronounce fiery in American English:
US [ˈfaɪəri]
-
- Adjective:
- characterized by intense emotion
- like or suggestive of fire
- very intense
Word Origin
- fiery (adj.)
- late 13c., "flaming, full of fire," from Middle English fier "fire" (see fire (n.)) + -y (2). The spelling is a relic of one of the attempts to render Old English "y" in fyr in a changing system of vowel sounds. Other Middle English spellings include firi, furi, fuiri, vuiri, feri. From c. 1400 as "blazing red." Of persons, from late 14c. Related: Fieriness. As adjectives Old English had fyrbære "fiery, fire-bearing;" fyren "of fire, fiery, on fire;" fyrenful; fyrhat "hot as fire."
Antonym
Example
- 1. He is also noted as a fiery and emotional orator with audiences sympathetic to his cause .
- 2. They may negotiate compromises in private , but they make fiery " no surrender " speeches in public .
- 3. Since defecting in 1997 , mr hwang has infuriated pyongyang , delivering fiery speeches against the nuclear-armed dictatorship of kim jong-il .
- 4. The administration 's handling of the september libyan consulate assault has provided mr. romney an opening on foreign affairs , and the subject was a fiery one in last week 's debate .
- 5. A fiery debate is likely over the next step , the bipartisan panel , and how much of its $ 1.5 trillion in deficit reductions will come from tax increases and how much from cuts in safety-net programs .