frenzy

[ fren-zee ]

/ ˈfrɛn zi /

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noun, plural fren·zies.

extreme mental agitation; wild excitement or derangement.

a fit or spell of violent mental excitement; a paroxysm characteristic of or resulting from a mania: He is subject to these frenzies several times a year.

verb (used with object), fren·zied, fren·zy·ing.

to drive to frenzy; make frantic: She was frenzied by fear when she smelled the smoke.

Nearby words

Origin of frenzy

1300–50; Middle English frenesie < Old French < Late Latin phrenēsis < Late Greek, for Greek phrenîtis; see phrenitis

SYNONYMS FOR frenzy

2. madness, insanity, lunacy, aberration; rage, fury, raving.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR frenzy ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR frenzy

1. calm. 2. sanity.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR frenzy ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsfren·zi·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for frenzy

I am scared that, like me, they will arrive and see a frenzy of disorganization, fear and, most frightening, quarantine.
Quarantine Turns Ebola Heroes Into Pariahs|Russell Saunders|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The media goes into a frenzy when egregious examples of bad mothers occur, like Susan Smith or Casey Anthony.
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Republicans have been in a frenzy since realizing that the IRS was missing two years of Lerner emails.
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Arriving at the Melody Ballroom, the atmosphere was a frenzy of joy, jubilation and holy bedlam.
The Battle for LGBT Equality Isn’t Over Yet|Gene Robinson|May 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In a frenzy of activity, he set to work filling the wall of his studio.
Matisse: Innovator Until the End|Nico Hines|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The smooth, regular flow of the pen over the paper roused Katherine to a frenzy of exasperation.
A Rock in the Baltic|Robert Barr
No; what was alarming at Poor Luck Barrens was not a frenzy of insanity—it was the delirium of pneumonia.
Billy Topsail, M.D.|Norman Duncan
Heywood sprang to intervene, in the same instant that the disturber of trade swept his arm down in frenzy.
Dragon's blood|Henry Milner Rideout
A species of frenzy had seized on the spectators, and all bid furiously; the girl was still weeping.
The Buccaneer Chief|Gustave Aimard
"Suttenly I'll done kill him," screamed the boy in a a frenzy of rage.
Si Klegg, Book 4 (of 6)|John McElroy

British Dictionary definitions for frenzy

frenzy

/ (ˈfrɛnzɪ) /

noun plural -zies

violent mental derangement

wild excitement or agitation; distraction

a bout of wild or agitated activitya frenzy of preparations

verb -zies, -zying or -zied

(tr) to make frantic; drive into a frenzy

Word Origin for frenzy

C14: from Old French frenesie, from Late Latin phrēnēsis madness, delirium, from Late Greek, ultimately from Greek phrēn mind; compare 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 frenzy

frenzy

mid-14c., "delirium, insanity," from Old French frenesie, from Medieval Latin phrenesia, from phrenesis, back-formation from Latin phreneticus "delirious" (see frenetic). Meaning "excited state of mind" is from c.1400.