hectic — 1. The meaning that is now the dominant one, ‘busy and confused’, is fairly recent (early 20c) and has developed in the same way as the figurative meaning of feverish. Hectic was originally an adjective or noun referring to the kind of fever that … Modern English usage
feverish — [adj1] having a high temperature above normal*, aguey, burning, burning up*, febrile, fevered, fiery, flushed, having the shakes*, hectic, hot, inflamed, on fire, pyretic, running a temperature*; concept 605 Ant. chilled, chilly, cold, freezing … … New thesaurus
hectic — (adj.) late 14c., etik (in fever etik), from O.Fr. etique consumptive, from L.L. hecticus, from Gk. hektikos continuous, habitual, consumptive (of a disease, because of the constant fever), from hexis a habit (of mind or body), from ekhein have,… … Etymology dictionary
hectic — [adj] frantic, turbulent animated, boisterous, burning, chaotic, confused, disordered, excited, exciting, fervid, fevered, feverish, flurrying, flustering, frenetic, frenzied, furious, hassle, heated, hell broke loose*, jungle*, madhouse*, nutsy* … New thesaurus
hectic — adjective a) Of a fever, pertaining to bodily reactions characterised by flushed or dry skin. The city center is so hectic at 8 in the morning that I go to work an hour beforehand to avoid the crowds b) Very busy with activity and confusion;… … Wiktionary
feverish — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adj. febrile, hectic, hot; restless, agitated. See heat, excitement, excitability. II (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. febrile, hot, burning, above normal, running a temperature, pyretic, flushed, fevered,… … English dictionary for students
hectic — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adj. feverish, febrile; excited, agitated, frenetic, wild, turbulent. See excitement. II (Roget s IV) modif. Syn. frenetic, excited, rambunctious, tumultuous, boisterous, restless; see also confused 2 ,… … English dictionary for students
hectic — Synonyms and related words: agitated, at fever pitch, bloom, blooming, blowzed, blowzy, blush, blushing, boiling, boiling over, burning, burning with excitement, burnt, bustling, busy, calenture, chaotic, childbed fever, coloring, continued fever … Moby Thesaurus
hectic — [14] The use of hectic for referring to ‘great haste or confusion’ is a surprisingly recent development, not recorded before the first decade of the 20th century. It originally meant in English ‘suffering from fever, particularly of the sort that … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
feverish — adjective 1) she s really feverish Syn: febrile, fevered, hot, burning; informal having a temperature 2) feverish excitement Syn: frenzied, frenetic, hectic, agitated, excited, restless, nervous … Thesaurus of popular words
