Meaning & use
afebrile
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparablemedical
Having a normal body temperature; showing no sign of fever.
Grammar: Used after a linking verb or before a noun in clinical notes: the patient remained afebrile.
Patterns
- remain afebrile
- be afebrile for 24 hours
The child has been afebrile since the antibiotics began.
She was afebrile on arrival but complained of a cough.
Doctors let him go home once he stayed afebrile overnight.
Common combinations
- remain afebrile
- The patient remained afebrile throughout the night.
- afebrile for 24 hours
- He must be afebrile for 24 hours before returning to school.
- afebrile and stable
- The infant was afebrile and stable on discharge.
- become afebrile
- She became afebrile within two days.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fever-free
- Fever-free means the same but is the plain, everyday choice that parents and schools use.
- apyrexial
- Apyrexial is a rarer clinical synonym that most readers will not recognize.
Opposites
Word family
- febrile adjective
- having a fever
- fever noun
- a raised body temperature
- feverish adjective
- having or showing a fever
- antipyretic noun
- a drug that lowers fever
Commonly confused: afebrile or aseptic?
afebrile vs aseptic
Aseptic means free from germs, not free from fever.
Practice
The nurse wrote that the patient was ___, meaning his temperature was normal.
Choose one answer.
Afebrile means without fever. Febrile means having a fever, the opposite, while the other two describe blood and speech conditions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “afebrile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.