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Glite Dictionary
defervescence

defervescence

9.9
A fall in body temperature when a fever goes away
  • noun
  • /ˌdɛfərˈvɛsəns/
  • Specialized
translation icon : defervescencia
  • After several days of high fever, his defervescence was a relief to everyone in the family.

Examples

  • Characteristics that identify a febrile outbreak as dengue include predominant leukopenia, maculopapular rash, retro-orbital headache, and a relatively long period of incapacitation after defervescence.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Following defervescence, the patient underwent aortic valve replacement with a St. Jude prosthesis and a pericardial patch repair of the mitral valve.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The doctor noted the patient's defervescence as a sign that the treatment was working.

  • Careful monitoring of her defervescence allowed the medical team to adjust her medication dosage.

Synonyms

lysis
vsdefervescence
  • Specialized
8.1

The gradual lessening of illness symptoms showing recovery

refers specifically to temperature drop showing fever subsiding
remittal
vsdefervescence
  • Archaic
9.5

A decrease in the strength of disease symptoms

is limited to measured temperature fall rather than general symptom reduction

How Feverish

fever
390 1.0
defervescence
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

defervescence singular
defervescences plural

Morphology

defervescence = defervesce (opaque) = de + fervesc + ence

The base verb 'defervesce' and the combining root 'fervesc-' are rare and technical; knowing common morphemes 'de-' and '-ence' is insufficient for a typical learner to infer the medical meaning.

Etymology

Defervescence comes from the parts de- 'down' and fervescere 'to boil' or 'become hot'. So think of a fever as heat that 'boils', and defervescence is that heat going down — the fall or end of a fever.