adjective
-
suffering from fever, esp a slight fever
-
in a state of restless excitement
-
of, relating to, caused by, or causing fever
Other Word Forms
- feverishly adverb
- feverishness noun
- nonfeverish adjective
- nonfeverishness noun
- pseudofeverish adjective
- unfeverish adjective
Etymology
Origin of feverish
First recorded in 1350–1400, feverish is from the Middle English word feverisch. See fever, -ish 1
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.
But he didn’t have the expressive variety to make the horror of Hercules’ death scene match lines like “Along my feverish veins, like liquid fire, the subtle poison hastes.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
Her take is a maelstrom of splendid beauty and doomed love, colliding at a feverish pace that makes the fidelity to Brontë’s book moot.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
Neither lack for words, as they run through their grievance-filled monologues with a feverish mix of guilt and fury.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026
The final round had both swinging for the rafters and the crowd rose to their feet in feverish anticipation.
From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026
Tearful, feverish, and scratching, she had to explain to her teacher why “Damp and Spooky: The Depiction of Grottos in Ominous Landscapes” would not be handed in on time.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
