fever dream

[fee-ver dreem]

noun

1. a particularly distressing, scary, or bizarre dream that a person may have when experiencing a fever.

   Bedridden with pneumonia, he had a fever dream in which bony old cats were climbing the walls of his room.

2. a situation, circumstance, or experience, typically unfavorable, that is odd enough to be likened more to a dream than to reality.

   So far, college has felt like a fever dream—ever since I arrived I’ve just felt so out of place.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fever dream¹

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

“LA gave every multi family unit a green bin due to a bureaucratic fever dream about composting,” the person wrote.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Yet victories at the Emirates, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Old Trafford felt like a fever dream on Sunday as Newcastle fell to a 3-1 defeat against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

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Skies said: "It was truly a magical experience making this music with Lily. It felt like a fever dream."

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Later, at Paramount Brooklyn, where Mamdani’s official party had wrapped, the afterparty was pure New York fever dream: Hasan Piker, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, Abby Stein, Mahmoud Khalil, and half the city’s activist class under one roof.

Read more on Slate

One of the standouts in “Star Wars: Visions” Volume 3 is “Black,” a jazz-fueled, mind-bending fever dream of a Stormtrooper during a battle.

Read more on Los Angeles Times