febrifuge

/ˈfɛbɹɪfjuːd͡ʒ/

//ˈfɛbɹɪfjuːd͡ʒ// noun

"febrifuge" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“febrifuge” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of antipyretic (“a fever-reducing medication”).

Corpus desk

Index EN-febrifuge · febrifuge · English

febrifuge · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for febrifuge
PropertyValue
Headwordfebrifuge
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɛbɹɪfjuːd͡ʒ/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “febrifuge” in English

febrifugesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

febrifuge is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɛbɹɪfjuːd͡ʒ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Synonym of antipyretic (“a fever-reducing medication”).".

febrifuge doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French fébrifuge, from Latin febrifugus. Doublet of feverfew. Source of -fuge. The correct English form is febrifuge, spelled F-E-B-R-I-F-U-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of antipyretic (“a fever-reducing medication”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how febrifuge appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. ...therein it differs not from the mode of operation, which we observe in the famous peruvian febrifuge.
  2. Ah, my boy, you forget the card index! Librarians invented that soothing device for the febrifuge of their souls...

Etymology

From French fébrifuge, from Latin febrifugus. Doublet of feverfew. Source of -fuge.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "febrifuge"?
"febrifuge" is spelled F-E-B-R-I-F-U-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛbɹɪfjuːd͡ʒ/.
What does "febrifuge" mean?
As a noun, "febrifuge" means: Synonym of antipyretic (“a fever-reducing medication”).
How do you pronounce "febrifuge"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "febrifuge" is /ˈfɛbɹɪfjuːd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "febrifuge"?
From French fébrifuge, from Latin febrifugus. Doublet of feverfew. Source of -fuge. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list