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

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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

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verb

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

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

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq remain heavily concentrated in tech—tying the fate of those indexes to that of the AI investment frenzy that has swept through markets in recent years.

From The Wall Street Journal

Thousands of Principality Stadium tickets - once devoured in a daffodil-clad frenzy - remain unsold.

From BBC

As the Norwegian press accused foreign media of “feasting on the chaos,” the start of the Olympics ushered in an outright feeding frenzy.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Copper is at the heart of an M&A frenzy, led by the diversified majors striving to acquire producing assets and reinforce their growth pipelines,” they write.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the frenzy, innocent people are getting hurt.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• burst
• craze
• excitement
• fever
• free-for-all
• furor
• fury
• hysteria
• madness
• mania
• outburst
• passion
• rage
• turmoil