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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 His technical director, François Perez, is one of those key members and his fervent enthusiasm nearly matches that of his boss. Thor Svaboe, Robb Report, 13 June 2025 The South is blessed with a bounty of delicious mayonnaise brands, each with their own evangelistic bands of fervent followers. Josh Miller, Southern Living, 14 June 2025 Now even some of the most fervent Taylor’s Version listeners are letting go of the lie. Tyler Foggatt, New Yorker, 8 June 2025 Each section takes on different styles, tones, and aspect ratios, becoming a Whitman’s sampler of Anderson iconography that will delight his most fervent admirers, but likely infuriate those who wrote him off long ago. Shannon Carlin, Time, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for fervent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fervent
Adjective
  • The greatest scientists of any age have always been those most passionate about their field — most drawn to the transcendence reflected in their studies — those whose lives were as great as their work.
    Linda McMahon, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 July 2025
  • And although the show was fairly undersold, the band's passionate fanbase was rewarded with a great spectacle of a show.
    Cal Roach, jsonline.com, 5 July 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
  • Here, guests and stylish locals alike graze on warm flatbreads, stacked club sandwiches, silky smoked salmon & cream cheese bagels, and sharing Seafood and Charcuterie boards—brimming with serrano ham, pillowy focaccia, smoked mackerel, and plump Atlantic prawns. Prefer a slower pace?
    Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • How To Clean Stovetop Grates With Vinegar Fill a pan or sink with equal parts warm water and vinegar.
    Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 1 July 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
  • 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
  • Farmers are at the mercy of climate change, which can mean hotter days over longer periods, and unpredictable weather in the form of hurricanes, which can badly affect crops.
    Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • Mamdani emerges from the Democratic primary far stronger than even his most ardent supporters had hoped, winning virtually all economic groups in the Democratic Party except the very poor and the very rich, both of whom supported Andrew Cuomo.
    Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 25 June 2025
  • Inter Miami defeated Porto 2-1 and gave this controversial tournament something even its most ardent detractors could celebrate.
    Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 20 June 2025
Adjective
  • As in most burning issues, there is no absolutely right or wrong answer.
    Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 June 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • Early Friday morning, intense rain caused flash flooding across Texas Hill Country.
    Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 6 July 2025
  • There were several safety cars during the race, along with changing conditions with periods of intense rain followed by a drying track.
    Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fervent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fervent. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

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