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."

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Financial markets were already in a febrile state because of the rising risk of a global recession and the gyrations caused by three outsized rate increases from a US central bank on the warpath against inflation. —

Mark Thompson, CNN, 29 Sep. 2022 Each of those diseases can be transmitted from cats to humans through scratches; each can cause a febrile illness and enlarged lymph nodes. —

Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 29 Dec. 2022 Dengue is now the leading cause of acute febrile illness in U.S. travelers returning from the Caribbean, South America, and Asia. —

Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 26 Nov. 2013 This place exists in autonomy, in relief, a dry, febrile land of cuboid houses and scrawled horizons. —

Maya Boyd, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Aug. 2022 The mid-1990s was a time of febrile change in the arts in South Korea. —

Patrick Frater, Variety, 1 Dec. 2022 Three prime ministers have governed the Southeast Asian country since a febrile election with a record turnout was fought four years ago on the key issue of corruption. —

Heather Chen, CNN, 18 Nov. 2022 India has one of the most febrile political conversations on Twitter, with competing parties regularly slinging allegations back and forth and accusing one another of spreading misinformation. —

Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2022 Miller’s handling of the manipulative lies of angry, spurned adolescent Abigail Williams (a suitably staunch and febrile Erin Doherty) — who stokes terror, harnesses resentments and ushers in the hanging of innocent townsfolk — is masterly. —

David Benedict, Variety, 29 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'febrile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.