fever

Syllables: fe·verUK/ˈfiːvə//ˈfivɚ/

fever noun: a higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease.

Noun

fever (countable and uncountable, plural fevers)

A higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease.
- There has been a rise in my fever. I think I've the flu.
- Proper nutrition – and even more important, proper hydration – is crucial in preventing and recovering from both fevers and colds. […] As Abramson explained, when we are sick, whether we have a fever or not, our metabolic rates skyrocket, and our bodies need more calories to support that high...2016 September 16, Hailey Middlebrook, “Should you really feed a cold and starve a fever?”, in CNN
Synonyms:

high temperature, pyrexia, temperature
(in-compounds, usually) Any of various diseases.
- scarlet fever
A state of excitement or anxiety.
- an envious feverc. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- There is little doubt that while war fever has not gripped Taipei, its economic foundations are being shaken. The stock market rose yesterday, but only because the Government has pumped $1.5 billion (£1 billion) into it after $370 million was drained from banks, and stocks were sold by investors...1996 March 15, Jonathan Mirsky, “Taiwan President visits islanders to bolster morale”, in The Times, number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas News, page 15, column 3
Synonyms:

excitation, excitement, passion
(collective, countable, neologism) A group of stingrays.
- On the way back to the mainland the boat passed over a fever of stingrays, and the sight of them through the glass was enough to colour everything else, and outstrip it.2011, Julianne Schultz, editor, Griffith REVIEW 34: The Annual Fiction Edition
- They move like thoughts, like memory, like a Wes Anderson diorama of earthly delights: lionfish, an albacore, a fever of stingrays—and then like a wound, a sea turtle at eye level.2020, Lindsay Illich, “sea turtle”, in rile & heave (everything reminds me of you): Poems
(derogatory, in-compounds, often, slang) Sexual attraction towards a specific group of people.
- Asian fever
- clown fever

Verb

fever (third-person singular simple present fevers, present participle fevering, simple past and past participle fevered)

To put into a fever; to affect with fever.
- a fevered lip
- the white hand of a lady fever theec. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
To become fevered.

fever meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

fever in Hindi

higher than normal body temperature: बुख़ार buxār, ज्वर jvar

fever in Tamil

higher than normal body temperature: காய்ச்சல் kāyccal, ஜுரம் juram

fever in Marathi

fever: ताप tāp, ज्वर jvara, संताप santāp

fever in Urdu

higher than normal body temperature: بُخار buxār, تاپ tāp

More languagesFewer languages

fever in Bengali: জ্বর jor
fever in Telugu: జ్వరము jvaramu, వేకి vēki, పులకరము pulakaramu
fever in Malayalam: പനി pani, ജ്വരം jvaraṁ
fever in Kannada: ಜ್ವರ jvara
fever in Punjabi: ਤਾਪ tāp, ਬੁਖ਼ਾਰ buxār
fever in Gujarati: તાવ tāv
fever in Odia: ଜ୍ୱର jwara
fever in Sanskrit: ज्वर jvara
fever in Assamese: জ্বৰ zor
fever in Nepali: ज्वरो jvaro
fever in Pashto: تبه tᶕba
fever in Tagalog: lagnat
fever in Arabic: حَرَارَة ḥarāra, حُمَّة ḥumma, حُمَّى ḥummā
fever in Malay: demam
fever in Indonesian: demam
fever in Thai: ไข้ kâi
fever in Vietnamese: sốt
fever in Myanmar: အဖျား a.hpya:

Examples of fever in a sentence

There is little doubt that while war fever has not gripped Taipei, its economic foundations are being shaken.1996 March 15, Jonathan Mirsky, “Taiwan President visits islanders to bolster morale”, in The Times, number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas...
She threw up her hands in excitement and the ball of water flew right into the pathway of the fever of stingrays.2020, Sarah Elizabeth, Secrets of the Past: Ocean Academy Year 1:

All 40 example sentences with fever

Synonyms of fever

All synonyms of fever

Forms of fever

Noun
plural	fevers
alternative form (obsolete, rare)	feaver
alternative form (obsolete, rare)	fevre
Verb
third-person singular present	fevers
present participle	fevering
past participle	fevered
past	fevered

Plural of fever: fevers

Origin of fever

From Middle English fever, fevere, from Old English fefer, fefor (“fever”) and Old French fievre (“fever”), from Latin febris (“a fever”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”). Displaced native Old English hriþ (“fever”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Fiewer, German Fieber, Danish feber, Swedish feber.

Words formed from fever

Phrases with fever

163 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with fever

6 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about fever

What does fever mean?: Fever means a higher than normal body temperature of a person (or, generally, a mammal), usually caused by disease.
What is fever in Hindi?: Fever in Hindi is बुख़ार (buxār), ज्वर (jvar). See Fever meaning in Hindi.
How do you use fever in a sentence?: There is little doubt that while war fever has not gripped Taipei, its economic foundations are being shaken.
What part of speech is fever?: Fever can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce fever?: Fever is pronounced /ˈfiːvə/ (UK).
What is the plural of fever?: The plural of fever is fevers.

Words near fever in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: fever (page history and authors); ज्वर (Marathi) (page history and authors); ജ്വരം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ಜ್ವರ (Kannada) (page history and authors); ଜ୍ୱର (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-fever.ogg.

Cite this entry: “fever.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fever. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.