Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or characterized by fever; feverish.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to fever; marked by fever: as, the febrile stage of a disease.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining to fever; indicating fever, or derived from it

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Feverish, or having a high temperature.
  • adjective Full of nervous energy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to or characterized by fever

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin febrīlis, from Latin febris, fever.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Late Latin febrilis, from Latin febris ‘fever’.

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Examples

  • Whatever the differences in manifestation the febrile diseases may show, the _febrile reduction of the digestive capacity of the stomach and the bowels is so characteristic_, that it should be specially noted in this connection.

    Valere Aude Dare to Be Healthy, Or, The Light of Physical Regeneration Louis Dechmann

  • The PedsQLTM appears to be a feasible, valid, responsive indicator of HRQOL for short-term febrile illnesses evaluated in the ED.

    BioMed Central - Latest articles 2009

  • The fever-related seizures — called febrile seizures — are convulsions brought on by a fever in infants or small children.

    Feds checking post-vaccine seizures in young kids 2011

  • The fever-related seizures — called febrile seizures — are convulsions brought on by a fever in infants or small children.

    Feds checking post-vaccine seizures in young kids 2011

  • Veniss Underground is the kind of book that inspires reviewers to say things like this: "There is a knit cohesion close in service to the novel's overall themes, an unfolding symbolism and allegory that is ultimately let loose during the final chapters, unleashing a Babel of imagery recalling the febrile panels of The Garden of Earthly Delights."

    Archive 2006-04-02 Bill Crider 2006

  • The side effects to the flu vaccine include fever, vomiting and often seizures related to high fever, also known as febrile convulsions.

    THE MEDICAL NEWS Editors 2010

  • The side effects to the flu vaccine include fever, vomiting and often seizures related to high fever, also known as febrile convulsions.

    THE MEDICAL NEWS Editors 2010

  • The Ministry of Health has told GPs not to use Fluvax after the children had fits caused by a high fever, known as febrile convulsions.

    Radio New Zealand News Headlines 2010

  • There is a long historical evolution of the very common condition known as febrile convulsions. the clinical picture of benign Rolandic epilepsy became clear due to the efforts of numerous authors.

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows yassermetwally 2010

  • Neutropenia that results in a fever is called febrile neutropenia, and it must be treated immediately to prevent the infection from spreading throughout the bloodstream-a serious condition known as septicemia, which can lead to organ failure.

    CancerConsultants 2010

Comments

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  • an interesting sounding word which should be more than just feverish--it should be a portmanteau word for feeble and brittle and something else I can't put my finger on. But it is not.

    April 15, 2008

  • "All he could do was try, with a febrile, terrified intensity, to remember which of the dreams was his own." From Perdido Street Station by China Mieville.

    December 6, 2011