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frantic

[fran-tik]
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adjective
  1. desperate or wild with excitement, passion, fear, pain, etc.; frenzied.
  2. Archaic. insane; mad.
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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

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1. overwrought, agitated, frenzied, distraught.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

desperatelyexcitedlymadlywildlyuncontrollablyberserkcrazilyhelter-skelterwildagitatedlyamokfranticlyhecticallyhysterically

Examples from the Web for franticly

Historical Examples

  • 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!

British Dictionary definitions for franticly

frantic

adjective
  1. distracted with fear, pain, joy, etc
  2. marked by or showing frenzyfrantic efforts
  3. archaic insane
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Derived Formsfrantically or franticly, adverbfranticness, noun

Word Origin

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).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper