fervent

[fur-vuh nt] /ˈfɜr vənt/

adjective

having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent:

a fervent admirer; a fervent plea.

hot; burning; glowing.

Origin

1350-1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin fervent- (stem of fervēns) present participle of fervēre to boil; see -ent

Related forms

fervently, adverb

ferventness, noun

nonfervent, adjective

nonfervently, adverb

nonferventness, noun

overfervent, adjective

overfervently, adverb

overferventness, noun

superfervent, adjective

superfervently, adverb

unfervent, adjective

unfervently, adverb

Can be confused

fervent, fever, feverish.

Synonyms

1. fervid, impassioned, passionate.

Examples from the web for fervent

These moments can cause irrational acts or imprint fervent memories on a wanton brain.
The show went on, and the wrenching absence of its honoree made it all the more fervent a celebration.
The visitors themselves aren't really visitors but devotees, meditative and fervent.
The characters' outsized actions seem quite natural when those characters are fervent, gun-toting gangster kids.
Observers describe fervent, and occasionally anguished, self-examination on the part of those who fail to weep.
She's become a fixture on news programmes and fervent advocate of green investment.
So fervent is the tabloid interest that the two stars, who should be promoting their movie, are on another continent.
Indians are engaged in a fervent debate over whether corruption is an unavoidable lubricant in the country's rush to prosperity.
The combination of fervent populaces and unchecked leaders gave rise to the law of the mob, writ frighteningly large.
Additionally, the fervent support of national leaders raised the status of drug courts.

British Dictionary definitions for fervent

fervent

/ˈfɜːvənt/

adjective

intensely passionate; ardent: a fervent desire to change society

(archaic or poetic) boiling, burning, or glowing: fervent heat

Derived Forms

fervently, fervidly, adverb
ferventness, fervidness, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin fervēre to boil, glow

Word Origin and History for fervent

adj.

mid-14c., from Old French fervent, from Latin ferventem (nominative fervens) "boiling, hot, glowing," figuratively "violent, impetuous, furious," present participle of fervere "to boil, glow," from PIE root *bhreue- (see brew). The figurative sense of "impassioned" is first attested c.1400. Related: Fervency; fervently.