1
: emotionally out of control
2
: marked by fast and nervous, disordered, or anxiety-driven activity
made a frantic search for the lost child
frantic cries for help
3
archaic
: mentally unsound
Synonyms
Examples of frantic in a Sentence
The girl was frantic with fear.
They made a frantic search for the missing child.
They were making frantic preparations for the party.
a frantic attempt to finish on schedule
Recent Examples on the Web
People down’: 911 calls reveal frantic scene during Doral bar shooting
Six bar patrons were injured, and a Doral officer also was hurt.
—
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 19 Apr. 2024
Some of the crews called up for duty reported that there were delays of up to an hour during the frantic effort to deploy them to the fire lines as workers struggled to gather equipment for their vehicles.
—Mike Baker, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for frantic 
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 19 Apr. 2024
Some of the crews called up for duty reported that there were delays of up to an hour during the frantic effort to deploy them to the fire lines as workers struggled to gather equipment for their vehicles.
—Mike Baker, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for frantic
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'frantic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near frantic
Cite this Entry
“Frantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frantic. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
frantic
adjective
fran·tic
ˈfrant-ik 
1
: wildly excited
frantic cries for help
was frantic with fear
2
: marked by wild and hurried activity
a frantic search for the missing child
franticly
adverb
-i-klē
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