hectic
Americanadjective
adjective
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characterized by extreme activity or excitement
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associated with, peculiar to, or symptomatic of tuberculosis (esp in the phrases hectic fever, hectic flush )
noun
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a hectic fever or flush
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rare a person who is consumptive or who experiences a hectic fever or flush
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hectic
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin hecticus, from Greek hektikós “habitual, consumptive,” adjective derivative of héxis “possession, state, habit,” equivalent to hech- (base of échein “to have, hold, keep”) + -sis -sis; replacing Middle English etyk, from Middle French
Explanation
Things that are hectic tend to be happen quickly and all at once — that's why a hectic day makes people nervous. Think about a calm, beautiful island with the sun shining and nothing to do but read a book. That kind of peacefulness is the opposite of hectic. When things get hectic, people sometimes say things are getting crazy or bananas: events are happening too fast for us to keep up, so we tend to get agitated or even angry. Because there's so much work to do, being a student is often a hectic job.
Vocabulary lists containing hectic
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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.
“I did that yesterday, when I was a kid,” he sings over hectic guitar strums, and his trilling digital falsetto, warped to maximize irritation, makes clear that those days are far behind him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
It’s a busy town where there are lots of people, lots of businesses, lots of traffic, the hectic pace of modern life — but still, the desert has its pull.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Raising a child is hectic and it’s possible the parents and guardians of a newborn might learn of the account and its $1,000 starter money later on.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
Antonelli, meanwhile, had briefly dropped to fifth at the start of the race after a hectic scrap with Hamilton, Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc through Turns Three and Four on lap two.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
—Well, you know how hectic my schedule is.
From "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
