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.
Across the nation, anti-Muslim fervor was so strong that Bush was compelled to explain to the American people that freedom of religion was still in the Bill of Rights.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
After the meal, we sat down for my interview and some deep, heartfelt discussion about the Who, a band that we both loved with the same intensity and fervor.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Keith Waldrop’s memoir of his family’s 20th-century history is saturated in the religious fervor that gripped his mother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Keith Waldrop’s memoir of midcentury America is saturated by the religious fervor that gripped his mother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
She looked at Hanako with an expression of fervor.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
