hectic
Americanadjective
adjective
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characterized by extreme activity or excitement
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associated with, peculiar to, or symptomatic of tuberculosis (esp in the phrases hectic fever, hectic flush )
noun
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a hectic fever or flush
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rare a person who is consumptive or who experiences a hectic fever or flush
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hectic
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin hecticus, from Greek hektikós “habitual, consumptive,” adjective derivative of héxis “possession, state, habit,” equivalent to hech- (base of échein “to have, hold, keep”) + -sis -sis; replacing Middle English etyk, from Middle French
Explanation
Things that are hectic tend to be happen quickly and all at once — that's why a hectic day makes people nervous. Think about a calm, beautiful island with the sun shining and nothing to do but read a book. That kind of peacefulness is the opposite of hectic. When things get hectic, people sometimes say things are getting crazy or bananas: events are happening too fast for us to keep up, so we tend to get agitated or even angry. Because there's so much work to do, being a student is often a hectic job.
Vocabulary lists containing hectic
Touching Spirit Bear
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Chadwick Boseman (1976–2020) Tribute List
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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.
Dairy farmer Mervyn Gordon sums it up in one word: "Hectic".
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026
Hectic work schedules left us little time to discuss anything aside from home improvement and the boys’ activities.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025
Hectic as it all is, his namesake would be thrilled.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
Hectic diplomacy is under way to prevent war; German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travels to Kyiv on Monday and then to Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
From Reuters • Feb. 14, 2022
All I wanted was an old-fashioned Teenager Walkout, wherein I stomp out of the room and slam the door to my bedroom and turn up The Hectic Glow and furiously write a eulogy.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
