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Glite Dictionary
🦟 A tropical disease 🌴 Desire for adventure
jungle fever

jungle fever

1 7.9
A severe form of malaria that happens in tropical areas
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒʌŋɡəl ˈfiːvər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : fiebre de la jungla
  • He wrote about his frightening battle with jungle fever in his memoir.

Examples

  • During the expedition, several members of the team fell ill with jungle fever.

  • He was diagnosed with jungle fever after his trip to the Amazon.

  • Doctors struggled to control the spread of jungle fever in the remote village.

  • The doctor warned her about jungle fever before traveling to Africa.

  • Traveling through the rainforest, she worried about contracting jungle fever from the mosquitoes.

  • After spending weeks in the tropical jungle, he was diagnosed with jungle fever.

  • The expedition warned the tourists about the risks of jungle fever in the area.

Synonyms

malaria
vsjungle fever
  • Specialized
113 3.9

A serious disease spread by mosquito bites that causes recurring fever and chills

is a severe tropical form rather than the general infectious disease
blackwater fever
vsjungle fever
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A severe form of malaria that destroys red blood cells and causes dark urine and kidney failure

is defined by occurring in tropical areas rather than by specific symptoms

Surface Forms

jungle fever singular
jungle fevers plural

Morphology

jungle + fever

The meaning is directly built from 'jungle' (exotic, tropical place) + 'fever' (a metaphorical state of intense excitement or craving); the pattern X + 'fever' = a craze or intense desire is productive in English. A B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer 'an intense desire for adventure or exotic travel' from the constituents.

Etymology

Jungle fever comes from the image of people in a hot, wet jungle getting a very high fever after mosquito bites. Doctors used the phrase for dangerous illnesses in tropical forests, so it means 'a severe form of malaria'.