fervent

English

Etymology

From Middle English fervent, from Old French fervent, from Latin fervens, ferventem, present participle of fervere (“to boil, ferment, glow, rage”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɝ.vənt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɜː.vənt/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

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• Hyphenation: fer‧vent
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)vənt

Adjective

fervent (comparative more fervent, superlative most fervent)

1. Exhibiting particular enthusiasm, zeal, conviction, persistence, and/or belief.
   • 1819, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, chapter 3, in Mathilda:

     As I returned my fervent hopes were dashed by so many fears.

   • 2022 June 2, Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins, “Biden makes fervent plea for stricter gun laws: ‘How much more carnage are we willing to accept?’”, in CNN‎:

     President Joe Biden issued a fervent appeal Thursday for stricter gun laws – including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background check laws and a higher minimum age of purchase – as a spate of gun massacres have left the nation shaken and prompted new discussions on Capitol Hill about how to prevent them.

2. Having or showing emotional warmth, fervor, and/or passion.
   • 1876, Wilkie Collins, “Mr. Captain and the Nymph,”, in Little Novels:

     Never again would those fresh lips touch his lips with their fervent kiss!

3. Glowing, burning, very hot.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Peter 3:10:

     But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Derived terms

• fervently
• ferventness
• superfervent
• unfervent

Related terms

• fever
• ferment
• fervid
• fervor

Translations

exhibiting particular enthusiasm, zeal, conviction, persistence, or belief

Bulgarian: пламенен (bg) (plamenen), страстен (bg) (strasten) Catalan: fervent (ca), fervorós Chinese: Mandarin: 熱切 / 热切 (zh) (rèqiè), 踴躍 / 踊跃 (zh) (yǒngyuè), 熱烈 / 热烈 (zh) (rèliè) Dutch: fervent (nl) Finnish: kiihkeä (fi) French: fervent (fr) Galician: afervoado (gl) German: inbrünstig (de) Hebrew: (formally) מְלֵא לַהַט (he) m (melè láhat), נִלְהַב m (nilháv) Hungarian: buzgó (hu), heves (hu), lelkes (hu) Irish: dúthrachtach Japanese: 熱烈な (ja) (ねつれつな, netsuretsu na) Macedonian: ревносен (revnosen) Maori: manawawera Mari: Eastern Mari: аяр (ajar) Middle English: fervent Plautdietsch: drinjent Portuguese: fervente (pt), fervoroso (pt), férvido (pt) Russian: пла́менный (ru) (plámennyj), пы́лкий (ru) (pýlkij), стра́стный (ru) (strástnyj) Scottish Gaelic: dian, dealasach, dìoghrasach Spanish: ferviente (es) Turkish: tutkun (tr)

having or showing emotional warmth, fervor, or passion

Bulgarian: горещ (bg) (gorešt), страстен (bg) (strasten) Chinese: Mandarin: 熱情 / 热情 (zh) (rèqíng), 火熱 / 火热 (zh) (huǒrè), 激情 (zh) (jīqíng) Finnish: kiihkeä (fi) Galician: afervoado (gl) Hebrew: סוֹעֵר m (so'ér), מְלֵא תְּשׁוּקָה (he) m (melè t∫uká) Hungarian: odaadó (hu), lelkes (hu) Maori: manawawera Middle English: fervent Plautdietsch: drinjent Portuguese: fervoroso (pt), férvido (pt) Russian: пла́менный (ru) (plámennyj), жа́ркий (ru) (žárkij) Scottish Gaelic: dian, dealasach Turkish: tutkun (tr)

glowing, burning, very hot

Bulgarian: горещ (bg) (gorešt), жарък (bg) (žarǎk) Chinese: Mandarin: 炎熱 / 炎热 (zh) (yánrè) Finnish: tulikuuma (fi), hehkuva (fi) German: glühend (de) Hebrew: לוֹהֵט (he) m (lohét) Hungarian: izzó (hu), forró (hu) Middle English: fervent Portuguese: férvido (pt) Russian: горя́чий (ru) (gorjáčij), жа́ркий (ru) (žárkij), жгу́чий (ru) (žgúčij), пыла́ющий (ru) (pylájuščij) Turkish: hararetli (tr), ateşli (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Danish: (please verify) brændende German: (please verify) glühend (de) (1,2), (please verify) inbrünstig (de) (1,2) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: (please verify) گەرمی (germî)

Further reading

• “fervent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “fervent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “fervent”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ferventem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [fərˈben]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [fərˈvent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [feɾˈvent]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

fervent m or f (masculine and feminine plural fervents)

1. fervent

   Synonym: fervorós

Derived terms

• ferventment

Related terms

• fervor

Further reading

• “fervent”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “fervent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “fervent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “fervent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French, from Latin ferventem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛʁ.vɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: fervents

Adjective

fervent (feminine fervente, masculine plural fervents, feminine plural ferventes)

1. fervent

Derived terms

• fervemment

Further reading

• “fervent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Verb

fervent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of ferveō

Middle English

Alternative forms

• farvent, ferfent, fervein, fervente, ffervent, vervent

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French fervent, from Latin fervēns, ferventem; compare fervour.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛrˈvɛnt/, /ˈfɛrvɛnt/

Adjective

fervent

1. fervent (very hot)
2. (by extension) tempestuous, fierce
3. fervent (ardent, enthusiastic)
4. (pathology) inflamed, feverous

Derived terms

• fervently
• ferventnesse

Descendants

• English: fervent
• Scots: fervent

References

• “fervent, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French fervent, from Latin fervens.

Adjective

fervent m or n (feminine singular ferventă, masculine plural fervenți, feminine and neuter plural fervente)

1. fervent

Declension

Declension of fervent

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	fervent		ferventă		fervenți	fervente
	definite	ferventul		ferventa		fervenții	ferventele
genitive- dative	indefinite	fervent		fervente		fervenți	fervente
	definite	ferventului		ferventei		fervenților	ferventelor