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perfervid

adjective
per·​fer·​vid | \ (ËŒ)pÉ™r-ˈfÉ™r-vÉ™d How to pronounce perfervid (audio) , ˈpÉ™r-\

Definition of perfervid

: marked by overwrought or exaggerated emotion : excessively fervent
Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about perfervid

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Choose the Right Synonym for perfervid

impassioned, passionate, ardent, fervent, fervid, perfervid mean showing intense feeling. impassioned implies warmth and intensity without violence and suggests fluent verbal expression. an impassioned plea for justice passionate implies great vehemence and often violence and wasteful diffusion of emotion. a passionate denunciation ardent implies an intense degree of zeal, devotion, or enthusiasm. an ardent supporter of human rights fervent stresses sincerity and steadiness of emotional warmth or zeal. fervent good wishes fervid suggests warmly and spontaneously and often feverishly expressed emotion. fervid love letters perfervid implies the expression of exaggerated or overwrought feelings. perfervid expressions of patriotism

Did You Know?

The adjectives "fervent," "fervid," and "perfervid" all derive from the Latin verb fervēre, meaning "to boil," and suggest a bubbling up of intense feeling. "Fervent" was the first to enter the English language in the 14th century. It stresses sincerity and steadiness of emotional warmth and zeal, as in "Her colleagues expressed fervent good wishes." The next to emerge was "fervid" in the late 16th century. It too suggests warmth but adds an element of spontaneity and feverishness. A lover might write a fervid billet-doux to his beloved, for example. With its first known appearance in print dating back only to 1833, "perfervid" is a relative newcomer to English, but it implies the most extreme or exaggerated expression of emotion. Its intensity comes from "per-," a prefix meaning "thoroughly."

Examples of perfervid in a Sentence

the perfervid prose of a romance novel

Recent Examples on the Web

 So why, with all this perfervid material at her disposal, did the director, Haifaa Al-Mansour, and her co-screenwriter, Emma Jensen, opt for such cautiousness? — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Mary Shelley' is a deeply conventional movie about ragingly unconventional people," 25 May 2018 Down south near San Diego, gray-faced children toil in a slave-labor camp that Dickens could not have imagined in his most perfervid dreams. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Blade Runner 2049’ Review: A Classic Renewed With Soulful Beauty," 4 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'perfervid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of perfervid

1833, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for perfervid

New Latin perfervidus, from Latin per- thoroughly + fervidus fervid

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