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

This was mostly because Sonia was busy with the German shepherd, who slept behind a gate in the kitchen and barked frantically whenever another parent came to the door. —Nell Freudenberger, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Laura frantically tapped her arm. —Dan Greene, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

And the mistakes, such as frantically learning — and failing — at how to build a river. —Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

Free up your team members to actually look at each other and debate ideas instead of frantically taking notes. —David Henkin, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1739, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frantically

• romantically
• semantically