febrile

adjective

fe·​brile ˈfe-ˌbrī(-ə)l 

also

ˈfē- 

: marked or caused by fever : feverish

a febrile reaction caused by an allergy

Did you know?

Not too surprisingly, febrile originated in the field of medicine. We note its first use in the work of the 17th-century medical reformer Noah Biggs. Biggs used it in admonishing physicians to care for their "febrile patients" properly. Both feverish and febrile are from the Latin word for "fever," which is febris. Nowadays, febrile is used in medicine in a variety of ways, including references to such things as "the febrile phase" of an illness. And, like feverish, it also has an extended sense, as in "a febrile emotional state."

Examples of febrile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, an insurgency in the central Oromia region is emblematic of the febrile security situation in part of the country that could undermine Safaricom’s push to extend the network of masts needed to broaden coverage. —Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 18 Aug. 2025

And in such febrile conditions, and devoid of corporate announcements to boost its share value, Kohl’s has got all the hallmarks of a meme stock. —Mark Faithfull, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

The chancellor is caught between febrile bond markets worried about government debt levels across advanced economies and rebellious Labour lawmakers who recently forced the government to pull back on reforms to welfare spending. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 July 2025

However, the overall risk of febrile seizures is very low for both options, according to the agency. —Aria Bendix, NBC news, 25 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin febrilis, from Latin febris fever

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Medical Definition

febrile

adjective

fe·​brile

ˈfeb-ˌrīl also ˈfēb-

: marked or caused by fever : feverish