hyperactive

adjective

hy·​per·​ac·​tive ˌhī-pər-ˈak-tiv 

1

: affected with or exhibiting hyperactivity

broadly : more active than is usual or desirable

2

: intricately or elaborately designed or detailed

hyperactive noun

Synonyms

• excited
• heated
• agitated
• overactive

Examples of hyperactive in a Sentence

the skyrocketing price of oil resulted in a wildly fluctuating, hyperactive stock market

hyperactive children who are in dire need of a guardian with a firm hand

Recent Examples on the Web

Reading poetry out loud also requires us to pause for punctuation or line breaks, increasing our parasympathetic tone and dampening our hyperactive sympathetic nervous system. —K.j.s. “sunny” Anand, Time, 15 Oct. 2025

Consider children who have five inattentive symptoms and five hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. —Carol Mathews, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025

Some canines might feel helplessness, unable to control the environment, with some becoming aggressive or hyperactive. —Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

Yet the hyperactive news cycle demands everyone create some kind of schema for figuring out what’s going on, and our era is typified with crackpot right-wing conspiracies that fill that void. —Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hyperactive

• bioactive
• interactive
• nonreactive
• overactive
• psychoactive
• putrefactive
• retroactive
• unattractive
• unreactive
• vasoactive
• active
• tractive

Kids Definition

hyperactive

adjective

hy·​per·​ac·​tive ˌhī-pər-ˈak-tiv 

: very active especially to an abnormal amount

hyperactivity

-ak-ˈtiv-ət-ē

noun

Medical Definition

hyperactive

1 of 2 adjective

hy·​per·​ac·​tive ˌhī-pə-ˈrak-tiv 

: affected with or exhibiting hyperactivity

Scientists suspect in certain genetically susceptible people, the immune cells remain hyperactive long after the infectious agent has been cleared from the body.

—Kathy Fackelmann, Science News

A growing number of parents suspect that the powerful stimulant Ritalin—long prescribed for its paradoxically tranquilizing effect on hyperactive children—has become a convenience for teachers seeking quiet classrooms …

—David Gates. Newsweek

broadly : more active than is usual or desirable

hyperactive

2 of 2 noun

: an individual who is hyperactive