frantic
Americanadjective
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desperate or wild with excitement, passion, fear, pain, etc.; frenzied.
- Synonyms:
- distraught, disturbed, agitated, overwrought
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Archaic. insane; mad.
adjective
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distracted with fear, pain, joy, etc
-
marked by or showing frenzy
frantic efforts
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archaic insane
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of frantic
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English frantik, frenetik, phrentique (the spelling with a appears in the 14th century but is unexplained), from Old French frenetique ( French frénétique ), from Latin phrenēticus, phrenīticus “mad, delirious,” from Greek phrenētikós, phrenītikós “suffering from inflammation of the brain or delerium” ( see phrenitis ( def. )); see frenzy, -tic
Compare meaning
How does frantic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When a mother loses her child, she's frantic. She's a crazed sort of agitated and goes on a frantic search for her child. A scene is frantic if there's lots of action with little order. Frantic is related to frenzy and both were originally ways to describe mental illness. Hundreds of years ago, if you were frantic, you were stark raving mad. Today, frantic implies fast wild movements or a desperate attempt to do something. On Christmas Eve, the scene at the mall was frantic with shoppers desperately searching for their last few gifts. And a wild party would only be called frantic if the police were called and everyone rushed to get away.
Vocabulary lists containing frantic
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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This Week in Words: September 29 - October 5, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mills fielded frantic calls from his counterparts in California desperately seeking to buy electricity from BPA, sometimes for above-market prices.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
In a country that switches leaders at a frantic pace, with eight presidents since 2016, Fujimori hardly needs to campaign to be known.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
Now she’s working the tournament at home, where her family, who live in Colorado, will be just a few hours away should there be any frantic last-minute flights to catch.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
Before that, there had been several laps of frantic action and Antonelli appeared to have a pace advantage at the time Russell retired.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
And then, seeing my frantic search for which train she was talking about, she pointed her gaze toward the right one and went on.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
