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

An always bustling event threatened to spill over into febrile territory as an agitated world tried to make sense of the moment up on the big screen. —Thomas Page, CNN Money, 24 May 2025

In rare cases, some children do have serious reactions to vaccinations — for example, about 4 in 10,000 infants between 12 and 23 months old who get their first MMR shot experience febrile seizures, which can be disturbing but cause no permanent harm. —Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 23 May 2025

My favourite word for the energy in corporate sustainability circles right now is ‘febrile’. —Solitaire Townsend, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025

A week prior my daughter had been really sick and landed in the emergency room after having a febrile seizure. —Cullen Daly, Glamour, 10 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin febrilis, from Latin febris fever

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

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Medical Definition

febrile

adjective

fe·​brile

ˈfeb-ˌrīl also ˈfēb-

: marked or caused by fever : feverish