feverish
/ˈfi.vɚ.ɪʃ/adjective
feverish is spelled F-E-V-E-R-I-S-H: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, feverish means “Having a fever, an elevated body temperature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in feverish?
| Letters | 8: F-E-V-E-R-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,176th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is feverish?
Feverish appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce feverish?
- UK /ˈfiː.və.ɹɪʃ/
- US /ˈfi.vɚ.ɪʃ/
Feverish has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-feverish.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of feverish
- more feverish comparative
- most feverish superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does feverish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a fever, an elevated body temperature.
The illness made him feverish, so they applied cold compresses.
- 2
Filled with excess energy.
He worked with feverish excitement.
- 3
Morbidly eager.
a feverish desire to see her again
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Feverish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in the state of having a fever:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fiévreux |
| German | fiebrig, febril, fieberhaft |
| Portuguese | febril |
| Spanish | febricitante, calenturiento, con fiebre |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does feverish come from?
From fever + -ish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).