frantic

[fran-tik]

adjective

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

   Synonyms: distraught, disturbed, agitated, overwrought

2. Archaic.,  insane; mad.

frantic

/ ˈfræntɪk /

adjective

1. distracted with fear, pain, joy, etc

2. marked by or showing frenzy

   frantic efforts

3. archaic,  insane

Other Word Forms

• frantically adverb
• franticness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of frantic¹

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” ( phrenitis ( def. ) ); frenzy, -tic

Word History and Origins

Origin of frantic¹

C14: from Old French frenetique , from Latin phrenēticus mad, _frenetic

Example Sentences

Draisaitl rushed the net with teammate Corey Perry and appeared to be sending a frantic one-handed pass Perry’s way when the puck flicked off a Panther and redirected into the net.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Leguizamo eases up on the ferociously funny clowning at which he is so expert to emphasize Nelson’s frantic desperation to avoid having to admit he has failed his family, numbing his anxieties with booze.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That said, the moment when Didi and Gogo throw themselves into a frantic hug—as if only by touching one another can they be sure they still exist—has breathtaking poignancy.

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I felt frantic; a profound sense of powerlessness and loss of balance in the total darkness came over me.

Read more on Salon

When she was about 5, she disappeared for hours to a dark henhouse to see how chickens laid eggs, so absorbed that she was oblivious to her family’s frantic search for her.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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