Meanings
- informaluncountableA desire for political power.
After years of resisting Potomac fever, was she experiencing the initial symptoms ofthis dreaded disease? Was she capitulating toa base instinct for power?
2011, Roger Herst, Rabbi Gabrielle's Defiance1 more example
Or maybe he just had a severe case of Potomac fever. It affects most congressmen and senators sooner or later: an atrophy of the sense of humility, a swelling of the glands of arrogance.
1991, Tom Sehler, When Reason Sleeps, page 4
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of Potomac horse fever.
Origin
(desire for political power): In reference to the Potomac river running through Washington, D.C., seat of US politics.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Potomac fever. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Potomac%20fever
“Potomac fever.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Potomac%20fever. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Potomac fever,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Potomac%20fever.
Source: Potomac fever on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.