run amok

Idioms  

1. Also,. Behave in a frenzied, out-of-control, or unrestrained manner. For example, I was afraid that if I left the toddler alone she would run amok and have a hard time calming down, or The weeds are running riot in the lawn, or The children were running wild in the playground. Amok comes from a Malay word for “frenzied” and was adopted into English, and at first spelled amuck, in the second half of the 1600s. Run riot dates from the early 1500s and derives from an earlier sense, that is, a hound's following an animal scent. Run wild alludes to an animal reverting to its natural, uncultivated state; its figurative use dates from the late 1700s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

run amok

Gossip about the celebrity guest list has run amok.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

The poster child for vendor financing run amok was Lucent Technologies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025

In the highly stylized universe of Hollywood noir, glamour and mental illness walk hand-in-hand; entitlement and privilege run amok.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025

It would be facile and easy to argue that this level of emotion is characteristic of their “intimate male friendship” and their shared passion run amok.

From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2025

Burr embodied Hamilton’s daring and energy run amok in a political culture still groping for its stable shape.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• defy
• overthrow
• renounce
• resist
• revolt
• secede
• take up arms