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.
Like Bierstadt, Church was not just stoking patriotic fervor, but also evoking divine providence as favoring the North’s cause.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 20, 2026
That pullback doesn’t diminish the intense investor fervor.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 20, 2026
However, the stock has nearly tripled so far this year, powered by investor fervor around artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
In many ways, the most ambitious World Cup in history — which kicked off Thursday in Mexico City — has inspired more angst than anticipation, more fear than fervor.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
Nevertheless, the game generated a treasure-hunt excitement, and presently he, too, succumbed to the fun, the fervor of this quest for refundable empties.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
