3 syllables: fe, ver, ish. Stress on fe.
FEE-vur-ish
/ˈfivɚɪʃ/
feverish is pronounced FEE-vur-ish (/ˈfivɚɪʃ/). It has three syllables (fe-ver-ish), with the stress on "fe". Feverish describes being affected by fever or showing symptoms of illness, often with a sensation of warmth, chills, or rapid breathing. It can also imply intense emotion or activity in a metaphorical sense. The term combines medical fever with the adjectival suffix -ish, signaling a quality or tendency toward fever-like symptoms. In use, it conveys a degree of warmth or agitation rather than a precise fever measurement.
Feverish describes being affected by fever or showing symptoms of illness, often with a sensation of warmth, chills, or rapid breathing. It can also imply intense emotion or activity in a metaphorical sense. The term combines medical fever with the adjectival suffix -ish, signaling a quality or tendency toward fever-like symptoms. In use, it conveys a degree of warmth or agitation rather than a precise fever measurement.
"Her cheeks were flushed and she felt feverish after the long run."
"The patient reported a feverish sensation and a pounding heartbeat."
"The crowd grew feverish as the trumpet sounded at the finish line."
Pronounce FEVer-ɪʃ with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA US: /ˈfiː.və.rɪʃ/ or /ˈfivərɪʃ/; UK: /ˈfiː.və.rɪʃ/; AU: /ˈfiː.və.rɪʃ/. Start with a long front vowel in the first syllable, then a schwa in the second, ending with the /rɪʃ/ cluster. Keep the /r/ light and the /ɪ/ in the final syllable short. Audio hint: imagine saying “fee-VER-ish” with crisp final consonant.
Common errors: (1) Under-suppressing the /r/ in American accents, leading to /ˈfiːvəɹɪʃ/ rather than a soft /r/. (2) Using a long second vowel in the second syllable, like /ˈfiːvər-iʃ/ instead of /ˈfiː.və.rɪʃ/. (3) Final /ɪʃ/ often becomes /iːʃ/ or /ɪk/ in rapid speech; keep /ɪʃ/ as a short, clipped ending. Correction: emphasize the schwa in the second syllable and finish with a light /r/ before /ɪʃ/.
US: /ˈfiːvərɪʃ/ with a rhotic /r/ and often a slightly longer /iː/ in the first syllable. UK: /ˈfiː.və.rɪʃ/ with non-rhotic or lightly rhotic tendencies in some regions and a shorter /ə/ in the second syllable. AU: /ˈfiː.və.rɪʃ/ similar to UK but with broader vowels; the /r/ is typically non-rhotic in many speakers of Australian English, so the /r/ may be weaker or silent before /ɪʃ/. Pay attention to vowel length and rhoticity differences across regions.
The difficulty lies in balancing the long first vowel with a quick, unstressed middle syllable and the final /ɪʃ/. The sequence vɚ/ or ver before /ɪʃ/ challenges many non-native speakers when linking consonants and maintaining the short, crisp ending. Also, the /r/ can be subtle or dropped depending on accent. Practicing with minimal pairs helps stabilize the middle schwa and the final /ɪʃ/.
Yes—stress pattern is strictly on the first syllable (FEVerish). The middle syllable is unstressed and often reduced to schwa, creating a quick transition from /fiː/ to /və/ before the final /rɪʃ/. This makes the word compact and rapidly spoken in fast conversation, so focus on clean syllable boundaries and a light, non-emphatic /r/ before /ɪʃ/.
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Feverish derives from fever, from the Old English fefer, feferu, related to the Proto-Germanic *faibaz- meaning ‘fever, heat’ with the suffix -ish forming adjectives indicating a resemblance or tendency. The core noun fever traces to Proto-Indo-European *kweh- ‘to burn’ or related terms for heat, later developing into a recognized medical term in Middle English. The adjectival form feverish appears in English by the late medieval to early modern period, originally describing persons or conditions associated with fever. Over centuries, feverish broadened metaphorically to describe excitement, activity, or enthusiasm with a sense of warmth or agitation, even when no fever was medically present. By the 19th and 20th centuries, feverish had become a common descriptor in both clinical and literary contexts, maintaining its dual medical and figurative senses.
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Words that rhyme with "feverish"
-ish sounds
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