feverish

[ fee-ver-ish ]

adjective

1. having fever.
2. pertaining to, of the nature of, or resembling fever:

   a feverish excitement.

3. excited, restless, or uncontrolled, as if from fever.

   Synonyms: worked-up, fervent, impatient, frenzied

4. having a tendency to produce fever.

feverish

/ ˈfiːvərɪʃ /

adjective

1. suffering from fever, esp a slight fever
2. in a state of restless excitement
3. of, relating to, caused by, or causing fever

Derived Forms

• ˈfeverishly, adverb
• ˈfeverishness, noun

Other Words From

• fe·ver·ish·ly adverb
• fe·ver·ish·ness noun
• non·fe·ver·ish adjective
• non·fe·ver·ish·ness noun
• pseu·do·fe·ver·ish adjective
• un·fe·ver·ish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of feverish¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, feverish is from the Middle English word feverisch. See fever, -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Audiard pushes them all into a type of feverish, Almodovar-adjacent melodrama that suits his instinct for sensorial cinema.

From Los Angeles Times

Feverish and vomiting the day of her baby shower, the 18-year-old had gone to two different emergency rooms within 12 hours, returning home each time worse than before.

From Salon

The resulting show is described as "a feverish new live experience, fusing theatre, music and movement".

From BBC

Thus it was that during the crucial period when Hitler was mainly operating by diplomatic bluff and intimidation and did not — yet — possess the military force to fully back up his threats, Lindbergh’s pronouncements had the pernicious effect of leading the Western powers toward submitting to Hitler’s demands at a time when the cost of resistance would have been significantly less than in September 1939, after a year of feverish German rearmament.

From Salon

Spurs started the day with high hopes but an early feverish atmosphere was eventually subdued, with almost a sense of inevitability that Arsenal would inflict familiar pain, as they duly did.

From BBC

Related Words

• fevered
• frantic
• frenetic
• frenzied
• furious
• heated
• hectic
• obsessive
• passionate
• restless