definitions

phrenetic

[ fri-net-ik ]
/ frɪˈnɛt ɪk /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR phrenetic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Also phre·net·i·cal.

frenetic.
filled with extreme excitement; fanatic; frenzied.

noun

a phrenetic person.

RELATED WORDS

furious, frantic, frenzied, obsessive, wild, ranting, irrational, berserk, fuming, delirious, mad, violent, demented, distraught, excited, fanatical, insane, overwrought, rabid, unbalanced

Nearby words

phreatophyte, phren-, phren., phrenalgia, phrenemphraxis, phrenetic, phreni-, phrenic, phrenic artery, phrenic ganglion, phrenic nerve

Origin of phrenetic

1325–75; < Latin phrenēticus < Late Greek phrenētikós, Greek phrenītikós frenzied (see phrenitis, -ic); replacing Middle English frenetike < Anglo-French < Latin as above; cf. frenetic
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for phrenetic

  • Yet here I sit, as yet unimmolated on the altar of phrenetic vengeance.

    Hard Cash|Charles Reade

  • This was very new; it was also very strange what a fascination he found in his phrenetic exercises.

    Little Novels of Italy|Maurice Henry Hewlett

  • He is a foolish physician that cannot bear the words of a phrenetic or delirant patient.

    A Christian Directory (Part 4 of 4)|Richard Baxter

British Dictionary definitions for phrenetic

phrenetic

/ (frɪˈnɛtɪk) /

adjective

an obsolete spelling of frenetic
Derived Formsphrenetically, adverbphreneticness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for phrenetic

phrenetic

adj.

late 14c., from Old French frenetike "mad, crazy" (13c.), from Latin phreneticus, from Greek phren "diaphragm, heart, mind" (see phreno-). A doublet of frantic.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper