HECTIC

feverish, hectic

(adjective) marked by intense agitation or emotion; “worked at a feverish pace”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

hectic (comparative more hectic, superlative most hectic)

(obsolete) Denoting a type of fever accompanying consumption and similar wasting diseases, characterised by flushed cheeks and dry skin.

(obsolete) Pertaining to or symptomatic of such a fever.

Very busy with activity and confusion; feverish.

Synonyms

• feverish

Noun

hectic (plural hectics)

(obsolete) A hectic fever.

(obsolete) A flush like one produced by such a fever.

Source: Wiktionary


Hec"tic, a. Etym: [F. hectique, Gr. sah to overpower, endure; cf. AS. sige, sigor, victory, G. sieg, Goth. sigis. Cf. Scheme.]

1. Habitual; constitutional; pertaining especially to slow waste of animal tissue, as in consumption; as, a hectic type in disease; a hectic flush.

2. In a hectic condition; having hectic fever; consumptive; as, a hectic patient. Hectic fever (Med.), a fever of irritation and debility, occurring usually at a advanced stage of exhausting disease, as a in pulmonary consumption.

Hec"tic, n.

1. (Med.)

Definition: Hectic fever.

2. A hectic flush. It is no living hue, but a strange hectic. Byron.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

21 May 2025

SOMETIME

(adverb) at some indefinite or unstated time; “let’s get together sometime”; “everything has to end sometime”; “It was to be printed sometime later”


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Coffee Trivia

According to WorldAtlas, Canada is the only non-European country to make its top ten list of coffee consumers. The United States at a distant 25 on the list.

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