3 → see also far-fetched , fetching
fetch|ing /fe tʃ I ŋ/ ADJ If you describe someone or something as fetching , you think that they look very attractive. □ Sue was sitting up in bed, looking very fetching in a flowered bedjacket.
fete /fe I t/ (fetes , feting , feted ) also fête
1 N‑COUNT A fete is an event that is usually held outdoors and includes competitions, entertainments, and the selling of used and home-made goods.
2 VERB [usu passive] If someone is feted , they are celebrated, welcomed, or admired by the public. □ [be V -ed] Anouska Hempel, the British dress designer, was feted in New York this week at a spectacular dinner.
fet|id /fe t I d, fiː -/ in BRIT, also use foetid ADJ [usu ADJ n] Fetid water or air has a very strong unpleasant smell. [FORMAL ] □ …the fetid river of waste. □ …the fetid stench of vomit.
fet|ish /fe t I ʃ/ (fetishes )
1 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] If someone has a fetish , they have an unusually strong liking or need for a particular object or activity, as a way of getting sexual pleasure. □ …rubber and leather fetishes. □ …fetish wear for sexual arousal.
2 N‑COUNT If you say that someone has a fetish for doing something, you disapprove of the fact that they do it very often or enjoy it very much. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ What began as a postwar fetish for sunbathing is rapidly developing into a world health crisis.
3 N‑COUNT In some cultures, a fetish is an object, especially a carved object, which is considered to have religious importance or magical powers.
fet|ish|ism /fe t I ʃ I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Fetishism involves a person having a strong liking or need for a particular object or activity which gives them sexual pleasure and excitement.
fet|ish|ist /fe t I ʃ I st/ (fetishists ) N‑COUNT [usu n N ] A fetishist is a person who has a strong liking or need for a particular object or activity in order to experience sexual pleasure and excitement. □ …a foot fetishist.
fet|lock /fe tlɒk/ (fetlocks ) N‑COUNT A horse's fetlock is the back part of its leg, just above the hoof.
fet|ter /fe tə r / (fetters , fettering , fettered )
1 VERB If you say that you are fettered by something, you dislike it because it prevents you from behaving or moving in a free and natural way. [LITERARY , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [be V -ed] …a private trust which would not be fettered by bureaucracy. □ [V n] The black mud fettered her movements.
2 N‑PLURAL You can use fetters to refer to things such as rules, traditions, or responsibilities that you dislike because they prevent you from behaving in the way you want. [LITERARY , DISAPPROVAL ]
fet|tle /fe t ə l/ PHRASE If you say that someone or something is in fine fettle , you mean that they are in very good health or condition. [INFORMAL ] □ You seem in fine fettle.
fe|tus /fiː təs/ → see foetus
feud /fjuː d/ (feuds , feuding , feuded )
1 N‑COUNT A feud is a quarrel in which two people or groups remain angry with each other for a long time, although they are not always fighting or arguing. □ …a long and bitter feud between the state government and the villagers.
2 VERB If one person or group feuds with another, they have a quarrel that lasts a long time. You can also say that two people or groups feud . □ [V + with ] He feuded with his ex-wife. □ [V ] Their families had feuded since their teenage daughters quarrelled two years ago.
feu|dal /fjuː d ə l/ ADJ [ADJ n] Feudal means relating to the system or the time of feudalism. □ …the emperor and his feudal barons.
feu|dal|ism /fjuː dəl I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Feudalism was a system in which people were given land and protection by people of higher rank, and worked and fought for them in return.
fe|ver /fiː və r / (fevers )
1 N‑VAR If you have a fever when you are ill, your body temperature is higher than usual and your heart beats faster. □ My Uncle Jim had a high fever. □ Symptoms of the disease include fever and weight loss.
2 → see also hay fever , rheumatic fever , scarlet fever
3 N‑COUNT A fever is extreme excitement or nervousness about something. □ Angie waited in a fever of excitement.
fe |ver blis|ter (fever blisters ) N‑COUNT Fever blisters are small sore spots that sometimes appear on or near someone's lips and nose when they have a cold. [AM ] in BRIT, usually use cold sore
fe|vered /fiː və r d/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Fevered is used to describe feelings of great excitement, and the activities that result from them. [WRITTEN ] □ Meg was in a state of fevered anticipation. □ …fevered speculation over the leadership.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If a person is fevered , or they have a fevered brow, they are suffering from a fever. [LITERARY ] □ …her fevered brow.
fe|ver|ish /fiː vər I ʃ/
1 ADJ Feverish activity is done extremely quickly, often in a state of nervousness or excitement because you want to finish it as soon as possible. □ Hours of feverish activity lay ahead. The tents had to be erected, the stalls set up.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Feverish emotion is characterized by extreme nervousness or excitement. □ …a state of feverish excitement.
3 ADJ If you are feverish , you are suffering from a fever. □ A feverish child refuses to eat and asks only for cold drinks. □ She looked feverish, her eyes glistened. ● fe|ver|ish|ly ADV [ADV with v, ADV adj] □ He slept feverishly all afternoon and into the night.