febrile

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.

The first records of febrile come from the mid-1600s. It comes from the Latin febrīlis, from the Latin febris, “fever.” This root serves as the basis of many related words, including fever itself, febricity (“the state of being feverish”), febriferous (“producing fever”), febrifacient (“something that produces fever”), febricula (“a slight and short fever”), febrific (“marked by fever”), and febrifuge (“a medicine to reduce fever”).

Febrile is most often seen in medical situations involving fevers and their effects. Febrile illnesses are those that are usually accompanied by a fever. It is also used in the names of specific conditions like febrile convulsion (an effect of high fever in young children that involves involuntary shaking).

People sometimes use febrile to describe a situation or atmosphere with a lot of uncertainty, instability, or anxious excitement, as in the febrile period before the election. Similar things are implied by the term feverish and the phrase fever pitch (meaning “a high degree of excitement”). All of these terms reference the kind of delirious state that can accompany a high fever.

What are some other forms related to febrile?

• febrility (noun)
• nonfebrile (adjective)
• postfebrile (adjective)
• prefebrile (adjective)
• unfebrile (adjective)

What are some synonyms for febrile?

• feverish
• fevered

What are some words that share a root or word element with febrile? 

• fever
• febricity
• febriferous
• febrifacient
• febricula
• febrific
• febrifuge

What are some words that often get used in discussing febrile?

• temperature
• illness
• patient
• convulsion
• seizure
• atmosphere 
• flushed
• inflamed
• delirious

Febrile is most commonly used in a literal way to refer to an illness involving a fever. When it’s used metaphorically, it often implies that the situation is somehow negative.

Saw a 2 yo boy in the ED with 3 febrile seizures in the past 24 hours. Flu B+. Unimmunized.

The vaccine is better than the flu and it's not too late in the season. Please get vaccinated. #VaccinesWork

— Dan Freedman (@dfreedman7) December 22, 2019

In Feb I was flu tested during a febrile illness. I just got the almost $200 bill from the very same clinic I work in. My patients are low income. What an invaluable yet heartbreaking eye opener. This is healthcare in America. #MedTwitter #primarycare

— April Ehrlich, MD (@april_ehrlich) April 14, 2020

PM Boris Johnson faced anger in the House of Commons on Wednesday amid a febrile atmosphere in Parliament

Here's a recap of the day's raucous exchanges

[Tap to expand] https://t.co/Nva7rRVgZZ pic.twitter.com/GNOoRGScsz

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) September 26, 2019

Which of the following words is the closest synonym of febrile?

A. feverish
B. hot
C. flushed
D. calm