1
2

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
  • 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
  • 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
  • In Alaska, warm and dry conditions coupled with frequent thunderstorms and lightning have resulted in more than 100 fires since Wednesday.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 22 June 2025
  • Concrete and asphalt radiate heat absorbed during the day, making urban areas typically several degrees warmer than rural areas, the weather service said.
    Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 22 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
  • 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
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
  • 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
  • There were times when the twin drama got too intense.
    Maris Kreizman, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2025
  • Drilling defense: Every day at practice, the Broncos execute intense, one-on-one, full-court defensive slide drills.
    Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fervent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fervent. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on fervent

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!