Standard Lemma guide

fervent

adj · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfɜːv(ə)nt/
  • General-American: /ˈfɜɹvənt/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)vənt
  • CMU ARPABET: F ER1 V AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Very hot; burning, scorching; also, glowing with heat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fervid

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of cold: intense, severe.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Of a drug: having an abundance of heat as one of the four qualities believed to be characteristic of all things; hot rather than cold, dry, or moist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical, obsolete

Qualifier: pharmacy

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and enthusiasm or zeal; ardent, earnest, passionate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: animated, ardent, avid, big [⇒ thesaurus] [on], bubbly, eager, earnest, ebullient, energetic, enthusiastic, excited, exhilarated, fanatic, fanatical, fervent, fervid, feverish, gassed, geeked, gung ho, hearty, high-spirited, impassioned, juiced, keen, lit up, lively, mad, motivated, passionate, raring, rip-roaring, souped-up, stimulated, thrilled, torrid, vehement, vibrant, vivacious, wild, worked up, wrought-up, zealous, zestful

Antonyms: adiaphroistic, apathetic, apathistical, blasé, blithe, deaf, cool, shiftless, dispassionate, dull, enervated, gallionic, halfhearted, heartless, impassive, ineffervescible, insouciant, indifferent, insensible, jaded, languid, languorous, Laodicean, lethargic, listless, lackadaisical, lotophagous, lukewarm, meh, mopey, nonchalant, nonplussed, otiose, phlegmatic, pococurante, spiritless, supine, tepid, torpid, torpedinous, unaroused, uncaring, unconcerned, unenthusiastic, unimpressible, uninterested, unlively, unmoved, untouched, unzealous, world-weary

5

adj

Meaning 5

Of a thing such as a battle, unrest, etc.: intense, severe; also, of a wild animal: fierce.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

extremely hot- Nathaniel Hawthorne- Frances Trollope

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the fervent heat...merely communicated a genial warmth to their half-torpid systems
  • set out...when the fervid heat subsides

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fervid

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

characterized by intense emotion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • ardent love
  • an ardent lover
  • a fervent desire to change society
  • a fervent admirer
  • fiery oratory
  • an impassioned appeal
  • a torrid love affair

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ardent, fervid, fiery, impassioned, perfervid, torrid

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English fervent, from Old French fervent (modern French fervent), from Latin ferventem, the accusative masculine or feminine singular form of fervēns (“burning, fiery; hot; zealous; etc.”), the present active participle of ferveō (“to burn; to be hot; (figurative) to be agitated, fired up, or inflamed; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bhrewh1- (“to boil; to brew”).

Across languages

Translations

77 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: горещ (gorešt) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Bulgarian: жарък (žarǎk) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Chinese Mandarin: 滚烫 (gǔntàng) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Chinese Mandarin: 火热 (huǒrè) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Chinese Mandarin: 炎熱 /炎热 (yánrè) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Czech: horoucí — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Czech: horký — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Czech: plamenný — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Czech: vroucí — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Danish: brændende — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Finnish: hehkuva — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Finnish: tulikuuma — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • German: glühend — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Hebrew: לוֹהֵט (lohét) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Hungarian: forró — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Hungarian: izzó — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Middle English: fervent — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Portuguese: férvido — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Russian: горя́чий (gorjáčij) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Russian: пыла́ющий (pylájuščij) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Russian: жа́ркий (žárkij) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Russian: жгу́чий (žgúčij) — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Spanish: ferviente — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Spanish: ardiente — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Turkish: ateşli — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Turkish: hararetli — very hot — see also burning, scorching
  • Bulgarian: горещ (gorešt) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Bulgarian: пламенен (plamenen) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Bulgarian: страстен (strasten) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Catalan: fervent — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Catalan: fervorós — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 火熱 /火热 (huǒrè) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 激情 (jīqíng) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 熱烈 /热烈 (rèliè) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 熱切 /热切 (rèqiè) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 熱情 /热情 (rèqíng) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 踴躍 /踊跃 (yǒngyuè) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Czech: horlivý — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Czech: náruživý — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Czech: vášnivý — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Czech: vroucí — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Czech: zanícený — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Danish: brændende — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Dutch: fervent — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Finnish: kiihkeä — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • French: fervent — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Galician: afervoado — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • German: glühend — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • German: inbrünstig — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hebrew: מְלֵא לַהַט (melè láhat) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hebrew: מְלֵא תְּשׁוּקָה — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hebrew: נִלְהַב (nilháv) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hebrew: סוֹעֵר (so'ér) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hungarian: buzgó — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hungarian: heves — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hungarian: lelkes — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Hungarian: odaadó — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Irish: dúthrachtach — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Japanese: 熱烈な (netsuretsu na) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Macedonian: ревносен (revnosen) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Māori: manawawera — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Eastern Mari: аяр (ajar) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Middle English: fervent — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Plautdietsch: drinjent — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Portuguese: fervente — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Portuguese: férvido — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Portuguese: fervoroso — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Romanian: fervent — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Russian: пла́менный (plámennyj) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Russian: пы́лкий (pýlkij) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Russian: стра́стный (strástnyj) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Russian: жа́ркий (žárkij) — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Scottish Gaelic: dian — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Scottish Gaelic: dealasach — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Scottish Gaelic: dìoghrasach — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Spanish: ferviente — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal
  • Turkish: tutkun — of a person, or their actions, interests, or nature: exhibiting persistent belief or conviction, and/or enthusiasm or zeal