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
Touching Spirit Bear
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Chadwick Boseman (1976–2020) Tribute List
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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.
Do not expect it to be a hectic closing few days in the transfer window.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
“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
All of this occurred during the hectic early phases of the TB project in Peru.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
