hyperactive
Americanadjective
-
unusually or abnormally active.
a company's hyperactive growth; the child's hyperactive imagination.
-
(of children) displaying exaggerated physical activity sometimes associated with neurologic or psychologic causes.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- hyperaction noun
- hyperactively adverb
- hyperactivity noun
Etymology
Origin of hyperactive
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.
Finn’s hyperactive sense of smell and bottomless appetite provide lighthearted comic relief, while the descriptions of Chase running are some of the book’s loveliest passages.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Symptoms can vary widely, with some individuals primarily experiencing inattentiveness, while others show more hyperactive or impulsive behavior, or a combination of both.
From Science Daily • Mar. 17, 2026
The action is punctuated by booming sound effects — canned applause, the “wah-wah” of a sad trombone and a hyperactive electronic buzzer, among them — coming from a trigger-happy soundboard operator behind the coffee counter.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026
But that trajectory changed when his parents decided their son, who admitted to being a "hyperactive" youngster, needed another outlet.
From BBC • May 28, 2025
Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp...It’s like hyperactive twittering of mechanical chicks.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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.
