like a man/woman possessed

idiom

: with a lot of energy or force : like a person who is completely controlled by some powerful emotion, spirit, etc.

He pounded on the door like a man possessed, yelling for someone to let him in.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Jefferson, a native of Sardis, Miss., which is about 30 minutes from the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, played like a man possessed last year against the Rebels, accounting for 411 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-51 loss. —Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 19 Nov. 2022

Jayson Tatum has been playing like a man possessed this year. —Ian Firstenberg, Chicago Tribune, 18 Nov. 2022

MacKinnon at times played like a man possessed during this run, leading the Avalanche with 13 goals, tied for the playoff lead. —Stephen Whyno, oregonlive, 27 June 2022

But the Game 2 redemption started with Brown playing like a man possessed. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 20 May 2022

The band sounded dialed-in and focused; drummer Glenn Kotche, who joined the band during the making of YHF, played like a man possessed, and guitarist Nels Cline, who came aboard two years after the album’s release, handled each electric mini-solo and noisy feedback crescendo with precision. —Simon Vozick-levinson, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2022

But painting like a man possessed and failing to make money from it — losing money, in fact — didn’t help. —Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2022

In the opening 3:30 of the second half, Mobley played like a man possessed on the glass, grabbing six of his rebounds in that short spurt. —Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 23 Jan. 2022

All the while, Leonard was drilling jump shots like a man possessed. —Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 June 2021

See More