fever

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountablemedical

   A body temperature higher than normal, usually because the body is fighting an infection.

   Grammar: Usually a fever or have a fever: she has a high fever.

   Patterns

   • have a fever
   • run a fever
   • a fever of 39 degrees

   The child stayed home from school with a fever.

   His fever finally broke during the night.

   If the fever lasts more than three days, see a doctor.

2. 2nounsingularfigurative

   A state of nervous excitement or strong, restless enthusiasm among people.

   Grammar: Usually singular and often in compounds: election fever.

   Patterns

   • in a fever of something
   • football fever

   Cup fever gripped the whole town.

   The crowd was in a fever of excitement before the show.

Word forms

Common combinations

run a high fever

The baby ran a high fever overnight.

reduce a fever

Rest and fluids helped to reduce the fever.

the fever breaks

By morning the fever had broken.

a mild fever

I had a mild fever and a sore throat.

gold fever

Gold fever drew thousands of people west.

Synonyms and how they differ

high temperature

High temperature is the everyday British way to describe a fever, and sounds less medical.

pyrexia

Pyrexia is the technical medical term and is rare in conversation.

frenzy

Frenzy is used only for wild excitement, not illness.

craze

A craze is a short-lived popular trend, while fever suggests a more intense feeling.

Opposites

Word family

feverish adjective

having a fever, or very excited

feverishly adverb

in a fast, frantic way

feverishness noun

the state of being feverish

fevered adjective

affected by fever or intense excitement

Commonly confused: fever or temperature?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fever”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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