fervor

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noun fer·vor \ ˈfər-vər \

Definition of fervor

1 :intensity of feeling or expression

booing and cheering with almost equal fervor
—Alan Rich

revolutionary fervor

2 :intense heat

See fervor defined for English-language learners

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Examples of fervor in a Sentence

As Nina has grown more observant, Andras has become distanced from her. Her religious fervor doesn't interest him. Coming to tradition late, Nina has all the pedantry of an autodidact. Her strivings seem inauthentic to Andras, and not at all spiritual. —Allegra Goodman, Kaaterskill Falls, 1998
Certainly being the son of a pastor had contributed to Vincent's religiosity, but in time even his father was disturbed by the growing intensity of his son's fervor. —Michael Kimmelman, New York Times Book Review, 12 Aug. 1990
In her renewed fervor, Norma fears that the past decade has turned women inward, away from one another, and away, too, from the notion that solidarity among women is ultimately a source of personal strength. —Anita Shreve, New York Times Magazine, 6 July 1986
Reciting, her voice took on resonance and firmness, it rang with the old fervor, with ferocity even. —Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings, 1983
The fervor surrounding her campaign continued right through election day.
The novel captures the revolutionary fervor of the period.

Recent Examples of fervor from the Web

With growing fervor against foreigners in the mid-nineteenth century, these white nationalists sparked deadly and fiery urban riots, raving about immigrants who were stealing jobs and committing crimes.

— aaron carico, Teen Vogue, "5 Ways Fascism Has Existed in America Since the 1700s," 28 Aug. 2017
Gunn left his grandfather's funeral with a new fervor.

— beth warren, The Courier-Journal, "‘I was scared to get sober': He dealt heroin, now he's been clean six years," 24 Aug. 2017
The vast majority were consecrated long after the Civil War, during spasms of white-nationalist fervor that coincided with the rise of Jim Crow and, later, resistance to the civil-rights movement.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "The Debate Over the Removal of Confederate Memorials Continues to Simmer," 21 Aug. 2017
Meacham takes a nonpartisan view of the populist fervor that ascended Donald Trump to the nation's highest office.

— carol connelly, Post-Tribune, "2017 Sinai Forum features six dynamic speakers," 26 July 2017
Accounts of death during this period no longer expressed the piety and spiritual fervor of earlier times.

— nancy west, The Atlantic, "Pictures of Death," 19 July 2017
Yes, there were a few pockets of anti-Trump fervor before the Bastille Day military parade, slated for Friday morning.

— james mcauley, Washington Post, "Donald Trump is deeply unpopular in France. So why didn’t Parisians protest his visit?," 14 July 2017
But the American fondness for checks and balances, for the mixed government that has so long served us well, is fast being replaced by a bipartisan fervor for unchecked presidential rule, elective monarchy in form if not in name.

— max bloom, National Review, "The Disturbing Rise of Monarchism in America," 13 July 2017
Trump has been pitching America's natural gas production and exports with more fervor than the Obama administration had, as part of Trump's effort to boost the American oil, gas and coal industries.

— justin worland, Time, "Trump Uses Natural Gas to Challenge Putin on European Trip," 6 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of fervor

Middle English fervour, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French fervur, from Latin fervor, from fervēre — see fervent

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First Known Use: 14th century

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fervor Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of fervor

passion, fervor, ardor, enthusiasm, zeal mean intense emotion compelling action. passion applies to an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable.