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Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of fervent are ardent, fervid, impassioned, passionate, and perfervid. While all these words mean "showing intense feeling," fervent stresses sincerity and steadiness of emotional warmth or zeal.

fervent good wishes

When might ardent be a better fit than fervent?

While in some cases nearly identical to fervent, ardent implies an intense degree of zeal, devotion, or enthusiasm.

an ardent supporter of human rights

Where would fervid be a reasonable alternative to fervent?

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

fervid love letters

When is impassioned a more appropriate choice than fervent?

The meanings of impassioned and fervent largely overlap; however, impassioned implies warmth and intensity without violence and suggests fluent verbal expression.

an impassioned plea for justice

When could passionate be used to replace fervent?

The words passionate and fervent can be used in similar contexts, but passionate implies great vehemence and often violence and wasteful diffusion of emotion.

a passionate denunciation

When would perfervid be a good substitute for fervent?

Although the words perfervid and fervent have much in common, 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 fervent The resulting jump in bond yields to near two-decade highs raised long-term borrowing costs and served as a stark warning for the path ahead that was echoed privately by a handful of Trump allies and to CNN and publicly by one of Trump’s most fervent defenders. Phil Mattingly, CNN Money, 22 May 2025 Image Image For four years, despite the fervent hopes of the Lockerbie families, nothing happened. Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 20 May 2025 In Jimmy Carter's case, transparency about melanoma that had spread to his brain in 2015, as well as his fervent religious faith and subsequent recovery from the dreaded disease, only made the former president seem heroic. Barbara A. Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025 There was also a fervent believer in Sasquatch and a museum in Santa Cruz dedicated to the hirsute, mythical creature. Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for fervent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fervent
Adjective
  • His passionate pursuit of public service, driven by principle and purpose and not self-aggrandizement, was Gerry’s secret sauce.
    Paul Laudicina, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • The wistful cover makes the case for focusing more on the ballad and less on the power, aspect associated with the passionate love song.
    Marina Watts, People.com, 30 May 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
  • These warm doors can accelerate growth, shorten sales cycles and unlock strategic opportunities that cold outreach or paid ads rarely can.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
  • The husband greeted Qasem Hassan with a warm smile.
    Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Adjective
  • His breakthrough role proved to be a history-making one too, securing the part of David, aka Tsotsi, in Gavin Hood’s searing 2005 crime drama Tsotsi.
    Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2025
  • And of all the heartbreak Indiana has caused Knicks fans over the years, this might be the most searing.
    Sean Gregory, Time, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Cannas like the summer heat and humidity and do just fine without watering except in really hot areas like southern Florida.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 June 2025
  • Nine states have assault weapons bans in place, as gun control has become a hot topic at the Supreme Court.
    Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
Adjective
  • In the days after her speech, the young graduate has received nationwide media attention, along with a torrent of ardent support and biting criticism.
    Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 1 June 2025
  • Devoted Knicks fans Spike Lee and Ben Stiller sat beside the couple: Lee, of course one of the most ardent and drippiest of the legion of celebrity fans, wore an orange and blue striped blazer and pant set, with a matching bower hat.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 30 May 2025
Adjective
  • Keep scrolling for more can’t-miss deals and the answers to your most burning questions about Way Day.
    Ali Faccenda, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Mud puddles are courageous, too, when returning the unblinking, burning gaze of the sky’s white eye.
    contributing Monitor poets, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But Tranter and Bartlett said Trump may settle roughly into this range of having an approval rating between 43 percent and 47 percent given the intense polarization of the country, as has been common in the past couple administrations.
    Jared Gans, The Hill, 31 May 2025
  • Residents of Maoming, China were treated to a celestial light show earlier this week when a surprise fireball burst to life overhead, illuminating the city before disappearing in an intense flare of light.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 31 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fervent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fervent. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.

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