Definitions

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

  • adjective Relating to or resembling a fever.
  • adjective Having a fever or symptoms characteristic of a fever.
  • adjective Causing or tending to cause fever.
  • adjective Marked by intense agitation, emotion, or activity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having fever, especially a slight degree of fever: as, the patient is feverish.
  • Indicating or characteristic of fever: as, feverish symptoms.
  • Having a tendency to produce fever: as, feverish food.
  • Morbidly eager; unduly ardent: as, a feverish craving for notoriety or fame.
  • Excited and fitful; in a state resembling fever; now hot, now cold; characterized by sudden change or rapid fluctuations: as, a feverish state of the money market.

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

  • adjective Having a fever; suffering from, or affected with, a moderate degree of fever; showing increased heat and thirst.
  • adjective Indicating, or pertaining to, fever; characteristic of a fever.
  • adjective Hot; sultry.
  • adjective Disordered as by fever; excited; restless.

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

  • adjective In the state of having a fever, to have an elevated body temperature.
  • adjective filled with excess energy.

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

  • adjective of or relating to or characterized by fever
  • adjective having or affected by a fever
  • adjective marked by intense agitation or emotion

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From fever +‎ -ish

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Examples

  • The No. 1 is what I call feverish in its vibrations, and would be certain to give any instrument a hollow tone, an instrument cuddled, tempered, and made to fit the ear of the expected purchaser by the experienced one who has it to dispose of.

    Violin Making 'The Strad' Library, No. IX. 1869

  • I have been feeling a little cabin feverish as here in almost always sunny Phoenix we had terrible rains, flooding and trees down.

    mi-vitesse - French Word-A-Day 2010

  • In those days, banking was not national, and New York and Chicago were in feverish competition.

    Chicago to New York: Drop Dead - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • In those days, banking was not national, and New York and Chicago were in feverish competition.

    Chicago to New York: Drop Dead - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • And this Moroccan question, how feverish is the feeling in that momentous conclave.

    Canada and Imperial Defence 1906

  • The Brownie was soon at the door, but not so soon as Ellen, who had dressed in feverish haste.

    The Wide, Wide World 1892

  • When Mexican damsels reach that "hood" which permits of long dresses and big bustles, they are in feverish expectation until, during a walk or drive, a flash from a pair of soft, black eyes tells its tale and a pair of starry ones sends back a swift reply, and with a tender sigh she realizes she has learned that which comes into the lives of them all.

    Six Months in Mexico 1888

  • She did not sleep, but lay tossing from side to side in feverish excitement the whole night – having, in fact, a terrible battle between her own fierce passions and her newly awakened conscience.

    The Hidden Hand 1888

  • He now forbore to interrupt her; she spoke in short feverish sentences, taking a mournful pleasure in thus confessing her love, in sharing with that venerable priest the secret which had so long burdened her.

    A Love Episode ��mile Zola 1871

  • Again, in some cases of what is commonly called feverish cold, stimulants like ammonia assist

    A Strange Story — Volume 02 Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838

Comments

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  • Jonathan Blake

    Ate too much cake,

    He isn't himself today;

    He's tucked up in bed

    With a feverish head,

    And he doesn't much care to play.

    - William Wise, 'After The Party'.

    April 12, 2009

  • Does this word have a short or a long 'e' in its pronounciation? I should use one way but personally I use a long e when talking about a fever, but short when talking about agitation and the like.

    July 26, 2009

  • It's definitely got a long 'e' when I pronounce it, but I don't know if that's universal. For instance I say 'leverage' with a long 'e' but many people don't.

    July 26, 2009

  • For me the meaning makes no difference in the pronunciation of this word.

    July 26, 2009