ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈli-stik 

1

: extremely and usually suddenly excited, upset, or angry : wild

He went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.

and the crowd goes ballistic

2

: of or relating to the science of the motion of projectiles in flight

3

exercise : being or characterized by repeated bouncing

ballistic stretching

4

physics, of an object in motion : behaving like a projectile

But the Bell Labs switch uses such a low current that the few ballistic electrons are a distance of a micrometer or more apart …

—Robert Pool

5

of a material : capable of resisting or stopping bullets or other projectiles

ballistic glass

ballistic nylon

… engineered specifically to be worn under ballistic vests and shirts.

—K. M. Reese

ballistically

bə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• angry
• indignant
• mad
• furious
• enraged
• outraged
• infuriated
• angered
• rabid
• infuriate

Examples of ballistic in a Sentence

she went ballistic when she discovered her brother reading her e-mail

Recent Examples on the Web

Law enforcement uncovered physical, medical, forensic, ballistic and reenactment evidence that contradicted the McNairy County sheriff's account of his wife's 1967 murder. —ABC News, 30 Aug. 2025

Ukraine's air defenses shot down 563 drones, one of the Kinzhal missiles, seven ballistic weapons and 18 cruise missiles, the air force said. —Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025

Its spinners are crafted with ballistic nylon or sleek polycarbonate exteriors, designed to last years—even decades—of heavy travel. —Julie Loffredi, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Hundreds of drones, hypersonic, ballistic, and cruise missiles on civilian and energy infrastructure. —Greg Myre, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin ballisticus "relating to the motion of projectiles in flight," from Latin ballista ballista + New Latin -icus -ic entry 1

Note: The Latin word was apparently introduced by the French priest and polymath Marin Mersenne (1588-1648) in Ballistica et acontismologia, a section (with separate title page) of his Cogitata physico-mathematica (Paris, 1644).

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing ballistic

• ballistic missile
• go ballistic

Rhymes for ballistic

• artistic
• autistic
• cladistic
• heuristic
• holistic
• linguistic
• logistic
• monistic
• patristic
• sadistic
• simplistic
• sophistic

Kids Definition

ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈlis-tik 

: of or relating to ballistics