panic
noun
a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.
panicked
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past participleof panic.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof panic.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
panicnouna sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.
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.
"We just threw him back in the water, we didn't manage to tag him. We didn't want the fish to be more panicked than that."
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The person then reportedly "panicked and left the premises" after realising what had happened, according to the Ofcom statement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
“When I started doing my research, I got really panicked and thought that I’d made a horrible mistake and this was just going to be impossibly dark,” Hunnam recalls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Many Iranian Jews panicked in 1979 after the new leaders arrested and executed Habib Elghanian on charges of Zionist espionage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Although his panicked gang scattered after that ridiculous failure, Booth hoped to try again.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
