frenzy
Americannoun
-
frenzies
plural
-
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
-
a burst of agitated, energetic action or activity.
Athens in the late 1960s was in the midst of a building frenzy.
-
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.
- Antonyms:
- sanity
verb (used with object)
noun
-
violent mental derangement
-
wild excitement or agitation; distraction
-
a bout of wild or agitated activity
a frenzy of preparations
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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; see phrenitis
Explanation
In a frenzy, people go into a state of hysteria. Stay away from hungry sharks or kids at a 16th birthday party when the pizza arrives if you don't want to get caught up in a feeding frenzy. Frenzy is derived from the Latin word phreneticus meaning "delirious." If you're in a frenzy, you're certainly delirious. You can be in a frenzy because something made you mad, happy, or even just hungry — whatever makes you so crazy you're not thinking clearly. Frenzy is often used when talking about a group of people (or animals) who get worked up at the same time about the same thing, like sharks near tasty fish or teenagers near pizza.
Vocabulary lists containing frenzy
Walk Two Moons
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Mayhem! Chaos! Pandemonium!
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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.
See Examples For:
Whether through technique or toil, Stan Wawrinka has always been able to whip fans into a frenzy.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Musk has contributed to this frenzy; the SpaceX prospectus issued before its initial public offering in June claimed that its products and services would have a “total addressable market” worth $28.5 trillion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
In March, Maas sent fans into a frenzy when she told Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast that there was more to come in the series -- a lot more.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
This time, he feels the rapturous frenzy in real time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
She hollered for the birds to fly away, but they were lost in a fighting frenzy.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
To him, AI is no different from those frenzies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The recent rally in silver is notable, with the white metal exhibiting significant volatility as it has attracted a wave of retail investors in a repeat of previous frenzies over the metal.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
Harry Polkinghorne, a keen 19-year-old angler, described how he regularly sees bluefin tuna now, including large schools of the fish in frantic feeding frenzies.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2025
Editor Eleanor Infante entrusts the movie’s energy to montages: fashion shoots, photo booths, feeding frenzies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025
When it is necessary they can be prodded into frenzies of fear and hatred, but when left to themselves they are capable of forgetting for long periods that the war is happening.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Fernandes kept his nerve to drive home his second attempt and then, in a frenzied atmosphere, Matheus Cunha scored twice in the final seven minutes.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Their fervor is showing up in frenzied trading of options, or contracts that allow holders to buy or sell a stock at a set price, by a certain date.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
A trek to the site of the deadliest avalanche in California history reveals a surprisingly tranquil spot, a stark contrast to the frenzied 15 minutes that determined who survived.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
He’s worried that the frenzied online discourse will only make the problem worse.
From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2026
As Cluny exhorted them, they roared back their frenzied replies: “Where does Cluny’s army go?”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Loya: —and then they’re just frenzying around their house.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2019
He watched their splashing, their excitement, and their frenzying limbs with the awareness that this tousling around had no higher significance.
From Tokyo to Tijuana: Gabriele Departing America by Steven (Steven David Justin) Sills
Still we must doubt the competency of the alleged authors of the excitement to perform the bewildering and frenzying acts ascribed to them.
From Witchcraft of New England Explained by Modern Spiritualism by Allen Putnam
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
