fervent
Americanadjective
-
having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent.
a fervent admirer; a fervent plea.
- Synonyms:
- passionate, impassioned, fervid
-
hot; burning; glowing.
adjective
-
intensely passionate; ardent
a fervent desire to change society
-
archaic boiling, burning, or glowing
fervent heat
Other Word Forms
- fervently adverb
- ferventness noun
- nonfervent adjective
- nonferventness noun
- overfervent adjective
- overferventness noun
- superfervent adjective
- unfervent adjective
Etymology
Origin of fervent
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French or directly from Latin fervent- (stem of fervēns ) present participle of fervēre “to boil”; -ent
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.
He sent the book out to the “Big Five” publishing companies and was rejected, eventually deciding to publish it with the Pasadena small press Red Hen after they expressed fervent interest in acquiring it.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
Swarmer’s stock surges nearly 1,100% in two days, underscoring fervent demand for drones.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
Over the years Cox has been a fervent campaigner and won many awards.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026
The author dedicated her work to “the people of America with the fervent hope that our nations may come ever closer together in mutual understanding and sympathy.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
Whitcross regained, I followed a road which led from the sun, now fervent and high.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
