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Synonym Chooser

How is the word ardent different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of ardent are fervent, fervid, impassioned, passionate, and perfervid. While all these words mean "showing intense feeling," ardent implies an intense degree of zeal, devotion, or enthusiasm.

an ardent supporter of human rights

When is fervent a more appropriate choice than ardent?

The words fervent and ardent are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, fervent stresses sincerity and steadiness of emotional warmth or zeal.

fervent good wishes

When is it sensible to use fervid instead of ardent?

While the synonyms fervid and ardent are close in meaning, fervid suggests warmly and spontaneously and often feverishly expressed emotion.

fervid love letters

When can impassioned be used instead of ardent?

While in some cases nearly identical to ardent, impassioned implies warmth and intensity without violence and suggests fluent verbal expression.

an impassioned plea for justice

When could passionate be used to replace ardent?

In some situations, the words passionate and ardent are roughly equivalent. However, passionate implies great vehemence and often violence and wasteful diffusion of emotion.

a passionate denunciation

When might perfervid be a better fit than ardent?

The meanings of perfervid and ardent largely overlap; however, perfervid implies the expression of exaggerated or overwrought feelings.

perfervid expressions of patriotism

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ardent Trump is also facing growing skepticism about deepening U.S. involvement in the Mideast crisis from some of his most ardent supporters. Arkansas Online, 19 June 2025 The prospect of potential U.S. military action in Iran is facing strong resistance from within the MAGA movement, with some of President Donald Trump's most ardent supporters urging him not join Israel in conducting air strikes. Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 18 June 2025 California farmers — many of them ardent supporters of Donald Trump — have seemed remarkably calm as the president vowed mass deportations of undocumented workers. Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2025 But on one March evening, these hulking installations were just a backdrop: Goose, and 1,000 of its most ardent fans, descended on the space for a special event promoting the ascendant Connecticut jam band’s new album, Everything Must Go (released April 25). Lyndsey Havens, Billboard, 6 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for ardent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ardent
Adjective
  • But housing advocates have been just as passionate about wanting to see more affordable housing in this area, particularly for seniors.
    Randy Mastro, New York Daily News, 24 June 2025
  • Argentine clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate have drawn huge, passionate crowds that serenade their heroes before, during and after matches.
    Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 22 June 2025
Adjective
  • Trump has been an avid proponent of reshoring U.S. manufacturing, using tariffs as a leverage to convince companies to build plants in the U.S. and attacking Apple for manufacturing its iPhones in Asia.
    Danny Bakst, Fortune, 26 June 2025
  • Residents who live near a fishing location, spend a lot of time near the water or are avid boaters are encouraged to get involved.
    Joe Rassel, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • One idea is that about a million years after the Big Bang, the universe cooled and underwent a phase transition, an event similar to how boiling water turns liquid into gas.
    Yasemin Saplakoglu, Scientific American, 3 Mar. 2020
  • If candy is still stuck on, pour more boiling water over whatever hasn’t come clean.
    Washington Post, Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2019
Adjective
  • Spurred on by her fervent belief in Jones’s talent, Morrison was determined to ensure that Corregidora made an impression, well aware of how a successful debut could define a fiction writer’s career—particularly that of a Black woman fiction writer.
    Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 24 June 2025
  • The Messi-Inter Miami Effect Amid all that, contests with South American teams have seen fervent crowds.
    Henry Flynn, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
Adjective
  • The 33-year-old state assemblyman has ensnared a wide net of seasoned billionaires and enthusiastic young activists, presented as a regular New Yorker who lived in Africa as a child.
    Alexandra Bregman, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Diamond and her husband were enthusiastic volunteers since the 1990s for a local historic preservation organization, Historic Boulder, Inc.
    Colleen Slevin, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • Pritzker’s speech, which occurred as national Democrats were largely leaderless in countering and criticizing Trump’s early chaotic presidential moves, aimed to fill the vacuum and garnered significant attention by offering a searing response to the president for a national audience.
    Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 24 June 2025
  • And first baseman Colby Thorndyke comes in with a searing swing.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • In the comment section, fans were excited to see an intimate piece of her life.
    Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 1 July 2025
  • According to recent research from the global consumer research platform, GWI, 60% of consumers are excited for the further development of AI tools.
    Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • Despite Benfica’s determination to preserve the core of a potentially special team, Fernandez returned to Portugal with Chelsea hot in pursuit.
    Liam Twomey, New York Times, 28 June 2025
  • In the first, JJ makes ice cream with his parents on a hot day, and learns the recipe along the way.
    Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 27 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ardent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ardent. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

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