Etymology
Origin of fervor
1350–1400; Middle English fervo ( u ) r < Anglo-French < Latin fervor heat ( see fervent, -or 1)
Explanation
Use fervor to describe an intensity of emotion or expression. Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers show so much fervor that they "bleed Dodger blue." This noun comes to us from Latin fervere, meaning "to boil, glow." In the English word fervor, the suffix –or means "a condition or property of something." There is another –or suffix that means "a person or thing that does the thing expressed by the verb." A corresponding adjective is fervent; synonyms of the noun and adjective are ardor and ardent.
Vocabulary lists containing fervor
Lord of the Flies
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Great Expectations
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Twelfth Night
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Adding to investors’ AI fervor, OpenAI late Monday reported it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering one week after competitor Anthropic announced it planned to go to market.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
“The biggest issues we have with soccer in this country is fields and we have issues with costs,” he says with the fervor of a Baptist preacher.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
Chinese officials could be worried about speculative fervor, Michael Hirson and Houze Song, analysts at 22V Research, said in a note to clients.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
The excitement for Cerebras shares speaks to the pent-up investor fervor over AI.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
At one time he had almost developed it into an art form, practicing the hobby with the skill and fervor of an artist and philosopher, a scholar and gentleman.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
