febrile

American  

[fee-bruhl, feb-ruhl, fee-brahyl] / ˈfi brəl, ˈfɛb rəl, ˈfi braɪl /

adjective

1. pertaining to or marked by fever; feverish.

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febrile British  

/ ˈfiːbraɪl, fɪˈbrɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to fever; feverish

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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

Derived Forms

• postfebrile
  adjective
• unfebrile
  adjective
• nonfebrile
  adjective
• febrility
  noun

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:

• febrile vs. afebrile

Explanation

Febrile is an adjective that means "related to fever." It can be used in a medical sense when someone is sick and running a temperature, or in a figurative sense to describe a state of excitement or energy. When febrile is used to describe a fever due to illness, it is often used together with the word seizure. A febrile seizure is a seizure triggered by a fever. In a non-medical sense, the word can describe a state of excitement, as in, "The atmosphere in the city was febrile as the king's coronation date approached." You might think the fe in the word sounds like "fee," but it is actually pronounced "feh," as in February.