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.
The company has emerged as one of many beneficiaries of growing AI spending, riding a wave of investor fervor that pushed global semiconductor stocks to new highs this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Her account of the Bund’s fervor and the exile into which its survivors escaped is interesting but overwrought.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Between the ongoing fervor for artificial intelligence plays and worries about how consumers are coping with inflation, there’s been little investor interest in consumer stocks.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Americans are captivated by the dizzying displays of group fervor, zany behavior and national pride that accompany nearly every match at each of the 16 venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Dobbs shouted louder, his face red with revolutionary fervor.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
