hemorrhagic fever: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowMedical/Technical, Journalistic
Quick answer
What does “hemorrhagic fever” mean?
A severe, life-threatening illness characterized by high fever and widespread bleeding (hemorrhage) from internal organs, skin, and mucous membranes.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A severe, life-threatening illness characterized by high fever and widespread bleeding (hemorrhage) from internal organs, skin, and mucous membranes.
A category of acute viral diseases, including Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, and dengue hemorrhagic fever, that involve damage to blood vessels, leading to leaky capillaries, coagulation problems, organ failure, and often shock. They are typically zoonotic (animal-borne) and have high mortality rates.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Spelling: UK uses 'haemorrhagic', US uses 'hemorrhagic'. Both spellings are understood globally in medical contexts.
Connotations
Identical in both varieties; conveys high severity and urgency.
Frequency
Equally low-frequency in both varieties, used almost exclusively in medical/public health reporting.
Grammar
How to Use “hemorrhagic fever” in a Sentence
[Patient] was diagnosed with hemorrhagic fever.The [Virus] causes a severe hemorrhagic fever.An outbreak of hemorrhagic fever has occurred in [Region].Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “hemorrhagic fever” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The patient may haemorrhage severely in the later stages of the fever.
American English
- The virus can cause the patient to hemorrhage internally.
adverb
British English
- The disease progressed haemorrhagically.
American English
- The patient bled hemorrhagically from multiple sites.
adjective
British English
- The haemorrhagic symptoms were alarming.
- It is a haemorrhagic fever virus.
American English
- The hemorrhagic complications are often fatal.
- They studied hemorrhagic fever pathogens.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare, except in pharmaceutical/healthcare industry reports on outbreaks or drug development.
Academic
Common in medical, virology, epidemiology, and public health literature and lectures.
Everyday
Very rare, used mainly in news reports about serious disease outbreaks in specific regions.
Technical
The primary register. Used precisely to categorize a group of diseases in clinical settings, research, and WHO/CDC communications.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “hemorrhagic fever”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “hemorrhagic fever”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “hemorrhagic fever”
- Misspelling: 'hemmorhagic', 'hemoragic'.
- Using it as a verb (e.g., 'He hemorrhaged a fever' is incorrect).
- Confusing it with non-hemorrhagic tropical fevers like malaria or typhoid.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, many viral hemorrhagic fevers are highly contagious through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals or via vectors like mosquitoes and ticks.
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is arguably the most widely known hemorrhagic fever due to its high mortality rate and dramatic outbreaks in Africa.
There is no universal cure. Treatment is primarily supportive (managing fluids, electrolytes, and treating complications). Some specific fevers have antiviral treatments (e.g., ribavirin for Lassa fever).
No. Sepsis is a systemic response to any infection. Hemorrhagic fever is a specific type of viral infection that often leads to sepsis-like symptoms but is defined by the causative virus and its specific hemorrhagic effects.
A severe, life-threatening illness characterized by high fever and widespread bleeding (hemorrhage) from internal organs, skin, and mucous membranes.
Hemorrhagic fever is usually medical/technical, journalistic in register.
Hemorrhagic fever: in British English it is pronounced /ˌhɛməˈrædʒɪk ˈfiːvə/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌhɛməˈrædʒɪk ˈfiːvər/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “No common idioms. The phrase itself is technical.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'HEM' (like blood) + 'ORRHAGE' (gushing out) + 'IC FEVER' = a fever that makes blood gush out.
Conceptual Metaphor
THE BODY IS A CONTAINER UNDER PRESSURE (that is leaking/cracking).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is a key characteristic of a hemorrhagic fever?