febrile
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does febrile mean? Febrile is a more formal way of saying feverish—having a fever.A fever is an abnormally high body temperature, typically as the result of illness. In general, febrile can mean somehow related to or marked by fever. It is commonly used in formal medical contexts, but it can also be used metaphorically to describe situations marked by a state of anxious excitement.Example: Nothing is worse than the febrile sweat that comes with the flu.
Other Word Forms
- febrility noun
- nonfebrile adjective
- postfebrile adjective
- unfebrile adjective
Etymology
Origin of febrile
1645–55; < New Latin, Medieval Latin febrīlis. See fever, -ile
Compare meaning
How does febrile compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Those who sued during that febrile and fractious period generated considerable anger among PGA Tour players, who felt money that belonged to them as members was being channelled into the pockets of lawyers instead.
From BBC
HHV-6B infects roughly 90 percent of children by age two and is best known for causing roseola infantum -- or "sixth disease" -- the most common cause of febrile seizures in young children.
From Science Daily
In his resignation email to staff, he wrote of "the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times".
From BBC
In his resignation statement he referenced "the very intense personal and professional demands of managing this role over many years in these febrile times".
From BBC
Their attendance, and link to a previous era, served as a reminder of just what is possible on these nights where the stadium shakes and atmosphere tends to be at its febrile best.
From BBC
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.
