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berserk 1 of 3

adverb

Definition of berserknext
as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner the familiar scene in horror movies where everyone runs berserk as the monster destroys everything in sight

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

berserk

2 of 3

adjective

as in ballistic

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Dissimilar Words

berserk

3 of 3

noun

variants or berserker
as in cowboy

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of berserk
Adjective
This has unintended consequences when both Batel and Spock share a vision that sends Spock into a berserk rage. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 31 July 2025 But that was before Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL tear and before UConn star Paige Bueckers went absolutely berserk, scoring 40 in the Sweet 16. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
Every four years, soccer fans around the globe go berserk over the World Cup, but in host cities like Los Angeles, the worldwide spectacle feels bittersweet and financially out of reach. — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026 Peer in on the New York team making a medium-to-deep run in the playoffs as every New Yorker in your life goes berserk. — Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for berserk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for berserk
  1. frantically
  2. ballistic
  3. cowboy
  4. wildly
  5. nuclear
  6. madman
  7. wild
  8. psychotic
Adverb
  • An influencer who’d been posing in a sports bra and very short shorts sprinted past us in a panic, trailed by some poor guy juggling way too much camera gear and a frantically barking Chihuahua.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • In the moments after the girl was run over by the truck, bystanders could be seen frantically waving their hands and running to help her.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of frantically
Adjective
  • About a month before the murder, on June 10, approximately 20 ballistic vests were illegally exported to Haiti for the Colombians, who were former members of their country’s military, prosecutor say.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Unfortunately, a particle returning from a ballistic flight is moving fast while its stationary twin is not.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of ballistic
Noun
  • The 55-foot-tall cowboy is sporting a new outfit for the 2026 edition of the fair.
    — Steven Rosenbaum, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • White’s Jimmy Hurdstrom is a good-hearted yet rough-around-the-edges ranch hand who evolved from a troubled criminal into a resilient, proud cowboy.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of cowboy
Adverb
  • In 2024, a gunman jumped a barricade during the parade and wildly opened fire, wounding a 16-year-old gang rival and striking four others, killing a 25-year-old man.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The Twilight alum went on to praise Hansen’s pivotal role on the wildly popular program, which exposed alleged pedophiles by using hidden cameras to capture adults trying to meet underage teens in online chat rooms.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of wildly
Adjective
  • The Additional Protocol is an agreement between the IAEA and a country that grants agency inspectors increased access to nuclear sites.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
  • In 2025, American and Israeli forces had bombed Iran’s nuclear-enrichment facilities, which Western leaders said were engaged in a decades-long drive to develop a nuclear weapon.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of nuclear
Noun
  • Home of the subversive and the sublime, the maverick and the madman, the inspired and the inspiring, the sage and the clown, and, most important, the brave.
    — Tom Selleck, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • First, as Americans, by the madmen who strike at our nation, at our physical, mental and emotional core.
    — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of madman
Adverb
  • Two more runs scored in the fourth inning when Ohtani, Pages and Freeman strung together three consecutive two-out singles and Keller wild-pitched a run home.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 12 June 2026
  • First, like cucumbers, squash is a wild-growing vegetable that competes for garden space, according to Dilmore.
    — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 9 June 2026
Definition of wild
Adjective
  • Devlin said eight jurors including herself began deliberation believing that Clancy, 36, was experiencing a psychotic episode when her children were killed in suburban Boston.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Her defense, however, argued that Clancy killed her children after suffering a postpartum psychotic break.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of psychotic

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berks
berserk
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Cite this Entry

“Berserk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/berserk. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on berserk

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about berserk

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