frenetic
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of frenetic
First recorded in 1350–1400; see origin at frantic
Compare meaning
How does frenetic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The adjective frenetic is another way to say frenzied, frantic, or totally worked up. Kind of how you'd run around the kitchen madly trying to cook a last-minute dinner for 30 of your closest friends. Sometimes tinged with fear and often quite maniacal, frenetic comes from the Latin phreneticus, meaning “delirious.” The Latin word, in turn, came from a similarly spelled Greek word which, when translated literally, means “inflammation of the brain.” So it's no surprise that a frenetic person looks absolutely crazed and super anxious.
Vocabulary lists containing frenetic
100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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The Marrow Thieves
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Articles on Dangers of Technology
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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.
He liked to play loudly, for many hours at a time, improvising ceaseless and whipsawing sagas of frenetic melodies and emphatic blaring and screeching—it was a whole lot of sound.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Were he around today, he’d probably have some thoughts about the state of children’s animation too, after seeing director Andy Serkis’ crass, frenetic, Americanized “update” of his anti-totalitarianism creature tale.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
Amid that wave of concern about the frenetic pace of the technology's advancements, Altman was briefly ousted as chief executive of OpenAI on concerns that he misled members of the board.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
She arrived to a frenetic scene of medical triage.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026
After I made our arguments in the noisy, frenetic courtroom, the judge granted our motion.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
