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Synonyms

rabid

American  
[rab-id] / ˈræb ɪd /

adjective

  1. irrationally extreme in opinion or practice.

    a rabid isolationist;

    a rabid baseball fan.
    Synonyms:
    bigoted, fanatical, ardent, fervent, zealous

  2. furious or raging; violently intense.

    a rabid hunger.

  3. affected with or pertaining to rabies; mad.

rabid British  
/ ˈreɪ-, ˈræbɪd, rəˈbɪdɪtɪ /

adjective

  1. relating to or having rabies

  2. zealous; fanatical; violent; raging

"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

Other Word Forms

  • rabidity noun
  • rabidly adverb
  • rabidness noun

Etymology

Origin of rabid

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin rabidus “raving, furious, mad,” from rab(ere) “to rave, be mad” + -idus -id 4

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.

When measuring the furiously growing buzz around the Lakers, one need only heed the hopeful cries of one of their most rabid fans, 6-year-old Jackson Tuyay.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

A lot of cases it would be 10 rabid fans — friends of the rich guy — then 20 other people that are on the guest list or they’re family or they’re neighbors.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

I’m not a rabid capitalist, but why should art be different from other things?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

Mr. Smith wasn’t just a “bulldog” he was a rabid wolf hell-bent on winning at any cost.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

I mean, there is anger and frustrated anger or anger mixed with fear or anger mixed with only slightly diluted rabid madness, and he was all of them, way past all of them.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen

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.