frantic
Americanadjective
-
desperate or wild with excitement, passion, fear, pain, etc.; frenzied.
- Synonyms:
- distraught, disturbed, agitated, overwrought
-
Archaic. insane; mad.
adjective
-
distracted with fear, pain, joy, etc
-
marked by or showing frenzy
frantic efforts
-
archaic insane
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” ( phrenitis ( def. ) ); frenzy, -tic
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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.
Every single car that went by was met with a wall of frantic camera flashes.
From BBC
There’s been some frantic action beneath the surface, though, as traders try to figure out the longer-term impact on companies from the AI boom.
From MarketWatch
In this frantic atmosphere, the number of Leah’s piano students dwindled.
From Literature
That was when she posted her frantic Facebook post in the smoke and the darkness.
From BBC
Duane glanced nervously in the direction of the Cold, Cold Ocean and saw something that made him grow frantic with fear.
From Literature
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.
