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Synonyms

frenzy

American  
[fren-zee] / ˈfrɛn zi /

noun

plural

frenzies

  1. a state of extreme mental agitation or wild excitement.

    There's something big businesses love about working their customers into a frenzy of anticipation.
    Antonyms:
    calm

  2. a burst of agitated, energetic action or activity.

    Athens in the late 1960s was in the midst of a building frenzy.

  3. a fit or spell of mental derangement; a paroxysm characteristic of or resulting from a mania.

    He is subject to these frenzies several times a year.
    Synonyms:
    raving, fury, rage, aberration, lunacy, insanity, madness
    Antonyms:
    sanity

verb (used with object)

frenzied, frenzying

  1. to drive into a frenzy; make frantic.

    She was frenzied by fear when she smelled the smoke.
frenzy British  
/ ˈfrɛnzɪ /

noun

  1. violent mental derangement

  2. wild excitement or agitation; distraction

  3. a bout of wild or agitated activity

    a frenzy of preparations
"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

verb

  1. (tr) to make frantic; drive into a frenzy

"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

Other Word Forms

  • frenzily adverb

Etymology

Origin of frenzy

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English frenesie, from Old French, from Late Latin phrenēsis, from Late Greek, for Greek phrenîtis; phrenitis

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.

Following a record-breaking frenzy of activity earlier this year, retail investors’ interest in trading stocks appears to have cooled as markets have turned rocky over the past month or so, according to J.P.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

So OpenClaw stirred up a frenzy as more people experimented with its code.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

He’s long resented her inability to contain the frenzy surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026

Daymen and Arienne Williams experienced the frenzy firsthand.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The idea of anyone except himself marrying Lavinia was enough to drive Turnus to frenzy.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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.