fever

noun

ˈfē-vər How to pronounce fever (audio)
Definition of fevernext
1
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning before the days of modern medicine, when death remained a mystery, people said that someone died of a fever and left it at that

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in frenzy
a state of wildly excited activity or emotion in the fever of a political campaign a lot of things get said that never should have been said

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fever While by the mid-50s the American boy’s fever for military validation was beginning to break, not everyone would get well. — Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026 Classic symptoms associated with Salmonella include fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. — Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Salmonella commonly causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026 Symptoms can include abdominal pain, diarrhea, which may be bloody, fever, nausea, and vomiting. — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fever
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fever
  1. disease
  2. frenzy
  3. illness
  4. rampage
  5. ailment
  6. ill
  7. sickness
Noun
  • The study’s findings also highlight the need for physicians to be alert to early signs of disease and consider blood pressure treatment, even in younger people, according to Freeman.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Etzel noted that the order makes several significant changes, which include reducing the number of diseases targeted by childhood vaccines and separating the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine into individual shots.
    — Adisa Hargett-Robinson, The Washington Examiner, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of disease
Noun
  • That is, of course, completely unnecessary as Nolan’s version has broken box-office records and caused an ongoing ticket frenzy.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2026
  • This has the support of Israel’s far right government, which faces a possible loss of power in an October election, and that’s led to a frenzy of settlement activity.
    — Greg Dixon, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of frenzy
Noun
  • Inter Miami paid tribute to Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge Messi, after his death following an illness was announced on Saturday.
    — Avi Creditor, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026
  • His illness became a topic of discussion during the 2026 World Cup, when his family acknowledged a health situation as Lionel Messi competed.
    — Shayna Jacobs, NBC news, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of illness
Noun
  • The rampage caused more property damage, additional crashes between other vehicles and ultimately injuries to three people who were treated at a hospital.
    — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Taylor is now scheduled to stand trial later this year; he was accused of attacking three victims in a racially motivated rampage in downtown Santa Monica in 2023.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of rampage
Noun
  • Medics treat heat stroke and other ailments from trailers while an announcer calls out an endless stream of names of people separated from their families.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026
  • During his time in the minors, Mayer dealt with hip, back, shoulder and wrist ailments.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of ailment
Noun
  • Blaming billionaire wealth-hoarding for America’s ills would poll very well among the nation’s anthropology departments.
    — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026
  • Last month, Kwon’s team, in collaboration with Seongju Kim at Hanbat National University, in Daejeon, South Korea, presented its solution to HBM’s future ills.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 8 July 2026
Definition of ill
Noun
  • In the hallway that night, Miriam had moved close to touch Birdie’s flushed cheek, damp and hot with the sickness.
    — Rachel Yoder, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Health officials urged that anyone experiencing symptoms seek medical care immediately, as the sickness can be treated with antibiotics when diagnosed early.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 30 July 2026
Definition of sickness

Browse Nearby Words

feuds
fever
feverish
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fever. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on fever

Nglish: Translation of fever for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fever

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of salvo

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All