feverish

adjective

fe·​ver·​ish ˈfe-vər-ish How to pronounce feverish (audio)
ˈfē-vrish
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

Examples of feverish in a Sentence

She was feeling tired and feverish. He had a feverish appearance.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Google, meanwhile, has spent at a feverish pace to build out AI data centers to train and run Gemini models. Ryan Whitwam, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2025 Instead Premier League observers should focus on what promises to be a feverish battle to finish in the top five, with every club down to Spurs in 12th deemed by Opta’s supercomputer to have at least some chance of finishing in the division’s upper quarter. James Pearce, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025 Prouty became an ally of Carto’s and a mentor to the director Oliver Stone, who worked some of his feverish theories of power into the screenplay for JFK—Prouty is the sage, fast-talking spook played by Donald Sutherland. Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025 Punk rock, a genre that’s known for being explicit, aggressive, and wildly feverish might be the best to capture a feeling as intense and complicated as love. Stephanie Mendez, SPIN, 14 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for feverish

Word History

First Known Use

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of feverish was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Feverish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feverish. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

feverish

adjective
fe·​ver·​ish ˈfēv-(ə-)rish How to pronounce feverish (audio)
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 How to pronounce feverish (audio)
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 spotR. L. Stevenson

More from Merriam-Webster on feverish

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