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

a rabid dog

rabidity

rə-ˈbi-də-tē 

ra-, 

rā-

noun

rabidly

ˈra-bəd-lē 

also ˈrā-

adverb

rabidness noun

Synonyms of rabid

• extreme
• radical
• revolutionary

Examples of rabid in a Sentence

a politician with rabid supporters

Her husband is a rabid baseball fan.

Recent Examples on the Web

His co-star, Anthony Geary, had already played Luke Spencer for three years on the ABC daytime drama and had developed a rabid fan following of his own. —Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 15 Dec. 2025

The agency said there is no current guidance for medical teams on addressing possible donor exposures to rabid animals, and suggests that further review take place when a bite or scratch that might result in exposure has happened in the past year. —Paula Wethington, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025

In this moment of especially rabid book banning, my high school senior has been translating Catullus in her Advanced Track (AT) Latin class. —Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025

The plan was overturned last month by two rabid appellate-court comrades in what became that news cycle’s apocalyptic walls-closing-in-on-Trump story. —Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 6 Dec. 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