frantic

American  

[fran-tik] / ˈfræn tɪk /

adjective

1. desperate or wild with excitement, passion, fear, pain, etc.; frenzied.

   Synonyms:

   distraught, disturbed, agitated, overwrought

2. Archaic. insane; mad.

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frantic British  

/ ˈfræntɪk /

adjective

1. distracted with fear, pain, joy, etc

2. marked by or showing frenzy

   frantic efforts

3. archaic insane

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Other Word Forms

• frantically adverb
• franticness noun

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:

• frenetic vs. frantic

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.

Example Sentences

But some key details remain unknown, including exactly what went down during those frantic seconds at the hotel and what motivated him.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

Grieving often prompts frantic spelunking missions—rereading old letters or texts, scouring your camera roll and random social media accounts for any scrap of a memory of your loved one.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

Mince the hard-boiled eggs cleanly — decisive cuts, not frantic mashing.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

In posting that a whole civilization would die if no deal was struck, the president sparked a frantic global guessing game.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

The frantic thumping of several pairs of feet sounded from the upper level, along with the trumpeted cry of “A girl!”

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• agitated
• angry
• delirious
• distraught
• frenetic
• frenzied
• furious
• hectic
• mad
• overwrought
• weird