frantically

adverb

fran·​ti·​cal·​ly ˈfran-ti-k(ə-)lē 

: in a frantic manner : in a nervously hurried, desperate, or panic-stricken way

searching frantically for the key fob

[Carlton] Fisk stood several feet down the line, frantically urging the ball fair with his hands. It hit the yellow foul pole above the wall, a home run.

—Ron Fimrite

Wine companies, fearing that younger drinkers are slipping out of their grasp, have been frantically trying to create products that will be viewed as edgy, hip and fun.

—Mitch Frank

During the new moon, a hatch of baby sea turtles erupts from the sand, struggling frantically to get to the ocean.

—Bernice Notenboom

Synonyms of frantically

• wildly
• desperately
• wild
• uncontrollably
• frenziedly

Examples of frantically in a Sentence

the veterinarian ran frantically from room to room looking for the escaped hamster

Recent Examples on the Web

There must have been 40 or 50 people racing around, frantically getting ready for the show. — Blake J. Harris, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026

City officials have been frantically preparing for Rachel, building sand berms and fortifying vulnerable areas with sandbags. — Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Cassity Garduque, 14, waved as her mom in her sailor uniform frantically waved back from the top deck. — Julie Watson, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

Companies went from using AI for the sake of using AI to frantically budgeting its use. — Konstantin Klyagin, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1739, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frantically

• romantically