frantic

[fran-tik]

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adjective

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

Archaic. insane; mad.

Origin of frantic

1325–75; Middle English frantik, frenetik < Old French frenetique < Latin phrenēticus delirious < Greek phrenētikós. See frenzy, -tic

Related formsfran·ti·cal·ly, fran·tic·ly, adverbfran·tic·ness, noun

Can be confusedfanatic frantic frenetic (see synonym study at fanatic)

Synonyms for frantic

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1. overwrought, agitated, frenzied, distraught.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for franticly

desperately, excitedly, madly, wildly, uncontrollably, berserk, crazily, helter-skelter, wild, agitatedly, amok, hectically, hysterically

Examples from the Web for franticly

Historical Examples of franticly

I planned the whole scene with an earnest heart and franticly set my soul on this project.
Mathilda
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
As the tempest-driven clouds are franticly hurrying to and fro, how serene the summits in the sky!
Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 2
John Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for franticly

frantic

adjective

distracted with fear, pain, joy, etc

marked by or showing frenzyfrantic efforts

archaic insane

Derived Formsfrantically or franticly, adverbfranticness, noun

Word Origin for frantic

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for franticly

frantic

adj.

mid-14c., "insane," unexplained variant of Middle English frentik (see frenetic). Transferred meaning "affected by wild excitement" is from late 15c. Of the adverbial forms, frantically (1749) is later than franticly (1540s).