rabid

adjective

ra·​bid ˈra-bəd 

also

ˈrā- 

1

a

: extremely violent : furious

b

: going to extreme lengths in expressing or pursuing a feeling, interest, or opinion

rabid editorials

a rabid supporter

2

: affected with rabies

rabidity

rə-ˈbi-də-tē 

ra-

rā-

noun

rabidly

ˈra-bəd-lē 

 also  ˈrā-

adverb

rabidness noun

Synonyms

• extreme
• radical
• revolutionary
• fanatical

Examples of rabid in a Sentence

a politician with rabid supporters

Her husband is a rabid baseball fan.

Recent Examples on the Web

There are up to 20,000 rabid people raining down their emotions from all angles, a dozen sticks clattering, two dozen skates carving, all those burly bodies bumping into each other and banging into the boards, plus an endless stream of screaming and grunting and cursing. —Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

Howell basically Streisand effected the rumors even more by DMing Phan shippers to tell them to stop, only for his protest to be circulated even more, making shippers even more rabid. —Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025

That’s in character for rabid Philly fans, who once tossed snowballs at Santa Claus during a long-ago Eagles game. —Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2025

As a result, a lot of interest from her rabid fan base has trickled into the NFL stratosphere, which is something that Jones has noticed. —Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin rabidus mad, from rabere

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

rabid

adjective

ra·​bid ˈrab-əd 

 also  ˈrā-bəd

1

: extremely violent : furious

2

: going to extreme lengths (as in interest or opinion)

rabid supporters

3

: affected with rabies

a rabid dog

rabidly adverb

Medical Definition

rabid

adjective

ra·​bid

ˈrab-əd also ˈrā-bəd

: affected with rabies

a rabid dog