feverish

adjective

fe·​ver·​ish ˈfē-vrish 

ˈfe-vər-ish

1

a

: tending to cause fever

b

: having the symptoms of a fever

c

: indicating or relating to fever

2

: marked by intense emotion, activity, or instability

feverish excitement

feverishly adverb

feverishness noun

Synonyms

• agitated
• excited
• frenzied
• heated
• hectic
• hyperactive
• overactive
• overwrought

Examples of feverish in a Sentence

She was feeling tired and feverish.

He had a feverish appearance.

Recent Examples on the Web

Thanks to Swift, gig-jetting has recently reached a feverish pitch, with Priceline reporting searches for hotels in her tour’s cities rising majorly over last year during the same period — with a 1,200 percent jump in Hamburg, Germany, for example. —Kathryn Romeyn, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2024

But Atlanta quickly expanded its sitcom vision in several unexpected directions, transforming into a feverish, prophetic, brutally systemic, reality-warped depiction of modern-day America. —EW.com, 10 June 2024

The disorder makes patients jaundiced, feverish, and dangerously low on vitamins crucial for a healthy pregnancy. —Zoya Teirstein, Vox, 30 May 2024

But Minecraft’s competitive scene is one of the industry’s most feverish, helping to keep interest in the game robust as titles like Roblox and Fortnite have surpassed it in monthly users. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, New York Times, 17 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

feverish

adjective

fe·​ver·​ish ˈfēv-(ə-)rish 

1

a

: having a fever

b

: of, relating to, or being fever

c

: tending to cause fever

2

: showing great emotion or activity : hectic

feverish excitement

feverishly adverb

feverishness noun

Medical Definition

feverish

adjective

fe·​ver·​ish ˈfēv-(ə-)rish 

1

: showing symptoms indicating fever (as increased heat and thirst or delirium) : having a fever

the patient is feverish

specifically : abnormally hot

the child's forehead felt feverish

2

: of or indicating fever

a feverish condition

3

: infected with or tending to cause fever

a damp, feverish, unhealthy spot

—R. L. Stevenson