fell

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /fɛl/ UK /fɛl/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like fail /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Meanings

1

adj
fierce, cruel, or deadly; (also) to cut down

The hero slew the dragon in one fell stroke.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · fierce, cruel, or deadly;... fierce cruel savage deadly ruthless sinister dire

Opposites

benign gentle kind mild

Word family

Derived forms fellness

Related forms felon felony

Etymology

In the sense 'fierce, cruel, deadly', from Old French 'fel' ('cruel, fierce, vicious'), from Medieval Latin 'fellō' ('villain, traitor'), the source also of 'felon'; of uncertain ultimate origin.

fel Old French fellō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# fell

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /fɛl/
**IPA (UK):** /fɛl/

## Meanings
1. fierce, cruel, or deadly; (also) to cut down

## Examples
- The hero slew the dragon in one fell stroke.

## Synonyms
- fierce
- cruel
- savage
- deadly
- ruthless
- sinister
- dire

## Antonyms
- benign
- gentle
- kind
- mild

## Derived Forms
- fellness

## Related Forms
- felon
- felony

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fel
- Root: fellō

## Etymology
In the sense 'fierce, cruel, deadly', from Old French 'fel' ('cruel, fierce, vicious'), from Medieval Latin 'fellō' ('villain, traitor'), the source also of 'felon'; of uncertain ultimate origin.

## AI Etymology
Fell is in the sense 'fierce, cruel, deadly', from Old French 'fel' ('cruel, fierce, vicious'), from Medieval Latin 'fellō' ('villain, traitor'), the source also of 'felon'; of uncertain ultimate origin. In present-day use, it means fierce, cruel, or deadly; (also) to cut down. Derived formations include fellness. Related vocabulary includes felon and felony.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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