fever dream
Americannoun
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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.
-
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.
Etymology
Origin of fever dream
First recorded in 1795–1805
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.
For some fans, that basketball fever dream is creating a wedding nightmare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
It must have felt like a fever dream moment.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Even “Four Weddings,” in which brides rated one another’s ceremonies on food, dresses and décor, now feels like a kind of collective fever dream.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2026
In contrast to this bright, festooned, walnut-trimmed coffeehouse, the memory of the old location feels like a fever dream.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2025
For some reason, in my fever dream he’s clutching a cheap chrome trophy.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
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.
