hectic
Americanadjective
adjective
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characterized by extreme activity or excitement
-
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
- hectically adverb
- hecticly adverb
- hecticness noun
- nonhectic adjective
- nonhectically adverb
- unhectic adjective
- unhectically adverb
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
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.
Like many cafes in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, the circa-1946 Café Giảng slots into the hectic, colorful streetscape like a narrow paperback on a library shelf.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
Tax preparation is a seasonal business — and a hectic pressure cooker.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
What you don’t mention in your letter is your monthly or annual expenses, nor your lifestyle, which may be less hectic given your arthritis symptoms.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
That's just ridiculous, so why do the powers that be often organise midweek games during these hectic final days, or even on deadline day itself?
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
Back at the Virginia plantation, there were rides, hunts, meals, and parties, but life was rarely hectic.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
