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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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
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 The crowd in Rio went berserk, and social media melted. — Bobby Ghosh, Time, 7 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
  • Fox recorded video of Stout leaving the area calmly after the fire started among others frantically getting away from the fast-spreading wildfire, Noel told the judge.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 24 July 2026
  • Baela isn’t sleeping or eating and is frantically seeking redemption after blaming herself for Jace’s death.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 20 July 2026
Definition of frantically
Adjective
  • Twenty-seven missiles were ballistic Iskander-M missiles or missiles fired from S-400 systems.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Russia bombarded Ukraine last weekend with one of the largest ballistic-missile barrages of the entire war.
    — Mark Montgomery, Washington Post, 31 July 2026
Definition of ballistic
Noun
  • The cowboy thanks the bartender and rides off into the sunset.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • Lean into desert dressing with cowboy-core and micro shorts; embrace your boho dreams in flowy dresses and ruffles; or match the city grit with an oversized leather jacket and low-rise jeans.
    — Christina Perrier, InStyle, 30 July 2026
Definition of cowboy
Adverb
  • After setting her wildly popular debut The Tiger's Wife in a Balkans suffused with myth and magic, the author turned in subsequent books to the Old West and a city redolent of New York.
    — Colin Dwyer, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
  • This urban concentration creates hidden local impacts, including wildly uneven regional carbon emissions depending on whether the local grid relies on fossil fuels or green energy.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of wildly
Adjective
  • Some experts suggest a deal akin to nuclear arms control, with verification and mutual constraint, would be the way forward.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 29 July 2026
  • Scientists have found new substances that were formed by nuclear or other extreme conditions in the past.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 29 July 2026
Definition of nuclear
Noun
  • Many writers travelled to Jonestown to survey the shambles and determine whether this was a utopian experiment gone astray or a madman’s fever dream destined to fail.
    — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 14 July 2026
  • The garages at drag events are full of red-eyed madmen who have sold their houses and chased their wives and children away in pursuit of this.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 July 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
  • The evaluator concluded the elder Henrichsen likely merited a diagnosis of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2026
  • In a recent eight-week stretch, 6% of my postpartum patients met criteria for a psychotic disorder—almost six times higher than rates published in the medical literature.
    — Uruj Kamal Haider, Time, 21 July 2026
Definition of psychotic

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Cite this Entry

“Berserk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/berserk. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on berserk

Nglish: Translation of berserk for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about berserk

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