Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Marked by great passion or zeal.
  • adjective Extremely hot; burning.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Burning; glowing; hot: as, fervid heat; the fervid sands.
  • Vehement; eager; impassioned: as, fervid zeal; a fervid glance.
  • Synonyms Fiery, glowing.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Very hot; burning; boiling.
  • adjective Ardent; vehement; zealous.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Intensely hot, emotional, or zealous.
  • adjective Very or extremely hot.
  • adjective Very passionate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective extremely hot
  • adjective characterized by intense emotion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin fervidus, from fervēre, to boil; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin fervidus, from ferveō.

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Examples

  • Here the middle-aged poet recalls the fervid dreams of his youth and thinks of them under the image of airy sprites attending his rushing chariot, like the Hours in Guido's picture.

    The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller Thomas, Calvin, 1854-1919 1901

  • Here the middle-aged poet recalls the fervid dreams of his youth and thinks of them under the image of airy sprites attending his rushing chariot, like the Hours in Guido's picture.

    The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller Calvin Thomas 1886

  • His letters are not the ardent, passionate, romantic epistles recalling the fervid style and thought of the _Nouvelle Héloïse_.

    The Court of the Empress Josephine Arthur L��on Imbert de Saint-Amand 1867

  • But lo! the sun recalls his fervid ray, And cold and dim the wat’ry visions fail; While o’er yon cliff, whose pointed craggs decay, Mild Evening draws her thin empurpled veil!

    The Romance of the Forest 2004

  • All in all, Christopher Allen has crafted another fun fan film, creating a credible revival of a show beloved by a fervid fanbase.

    Quantum Leap / Princess Diana fan film Debuts | Fan Cinema Today 2009

  • The birds were assembled beneath leafy shade, or made short, languid flights in search of food, all save the majestic buzzard; with broad wings out-spread he sailed the warm air unwarily from ridge to ridge, seeming to enjoy the fervid sunshine like a butterfly.

    John Muir 2010

  • In the fervid atmosphere of the late 60s, not everybody recognized to what extent this was true.

    Rock's fake rebels Dorian Lynskey 2010

  • The name and space of Barbara Stratton 's TriBeCa lunch counter might have changed, but the homey food—and its fervid fans—have remained the same.

    Soups, Salads and Sandwiches 2011

  • Grand total: 305 hp. The fervid, overreaching exhaust note is what a very fine sports car would sound like if it got a hernia.

    Fanboys in Flight: Subaru Roars In on a Wing Dan Neil 2010

  • His hair, by contrast, he wore with a sharp side part and a fervid rectitude, as if all his phony honor depended on it.

    Excerpt: In the Kitchen by Monica Ali 2009

Comments

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  • Your love would be uncomfortably

    fervid, it is clear

    If, as you are stating

    It's been accumulating

    Forty-seven year.

    -- Pirates of Penzance

    August 20, 2008

  • Fervent vs. fervid

    Some English usage authorities draw a distinction between fervent and fervid, saying that while both mean having great passion or zeal, fervid feelings are more extreme and perhaps irrational than fervent feelings. In other words, fervidness is ferventness to an excessive degree. While this distinction might be useful, it is not consistently borne out in real-world usage. The word are generally interchangeable, with fervent being the more common form by a large margin.

    November 16, 2016

  • A third option is perfervid, which unambiguously implies excess.

    November 16, 2016