1
as in agitated
feeling overwhelming fear or worry
we were delirious with anxiety when the boy failed to return home
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in frantic
marked by great and often stressful excitement or activity
rushing about in a delirious state during the holidays
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of delirious
Bloodshot synth figures and delirious vocal performances are presented at their most elemental, as Granli zeroes in on the intangible forces that can make music tweak your senses and sneak past conscious understanding.
—
H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
Cookie Fleck, O’Hara’s character in Best in Show, is an outstanding example of her comedic sensibility—a meld of physical comedy, deadpan affect, and delirious self-confidence—whose influence is all over the mock-interview segments of, say, Parks and Recreation.
—Paula Mejía, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
By the game’s end, when Brentwood came back from an 11-point deficit to defeat rival Crossroads 70-60, the 6-foot-7 Hill was using all of his final energy to dance with the delirious student section that got loud and boisterous and helped inspire the Eagles’ rally.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
He is denied both the company of the living and the serenity of death, a lost, delirious soul who fails to anchor himself anywhere.
—Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for delirious
H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
Cookie Fleck, O’Hara’s character in Best in Show, is an outstanding example of her comedic sensibility—a meld of physical comedy, deadpan affect, and delirious self-confidence—whose influence is all over the mock-interview segments of, say, Parks and Recreation.
—Paula Mejía, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
By the game’s end, when Brentwood came back from an 11-point deficit to defeat rival Crossroads 70-60, the 6-foot-7 Hill was using all of his final energy to dance with the delirious student section that got loud and boisterous and helped inspire the Eagles’ rally.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
He is denied both the company of the living and the serenity of death, a lost, delirious soul who fails to anchor himself anywhere.
—Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for delirious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for delirious
Adjective
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Marcee Gray, the defendant’s estranged wife who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, testified their son was riddled with anxiety, easily agitated and had panic attacks.—
Maxime Tamsett,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
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Now the piano has something to play against, slinking, leaping, whipping, and swiveling like an agitated shark in a tank of impassive harmonies.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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As the driver took off, the frantic mother carried her son back inside the hospital, where teams of doctors performed chest compressions and other rescue efforts, but failed to save him.—
Dave Carlin,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
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As Saturday night spilled into Sunday morning, the sidewalks and crowded patios of lively Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, were cloaked in terror and fear as the clinking of glasses and music gave way to frantic calls for help after a gunman opened fire.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The family of the victim is distraught.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
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Andrew was photographed in a car as he was being driven back to Wood Farm in Sandringham, looking extremely distraught.—
StyleCaster Editors,
StyleCaster,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Ricki Nash was so furious that Loone took out a restraining order on behalf of Mercury to keep him safe.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
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A whole lot of people in Hollywood are furious with the city’s Historic Preservation Board, which voted three weeks ago to grant a special zoning exception for a mikvah, a religious bathhouse for Jewish women, in a historic single-family residential neighborhood.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The culling perfectly played into ongoing fears that AI automation is coming for white-collar jobs, a major job market and economic disruption that workers are becoming increasingly worried about — and which clearly has execs salivating.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
5 Mar. 2026
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But Boone wasn’t too worried about the right-hander’s velocity in early February.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In the 18th century, natural red fabric dyes made from Indian madder root and South American brazilwood were key to producing the pink fabrics that both men and women wore during the reign of King Louis XV.—
Adam Mansuroglu,
Robb Report,
28 Feb. 2026
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There was a mad scramble—people running in every direction, some tumbling over others.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In a crisis, Tori puts those life-saving skills to use, transforming from a frightened and threatened young woman into a fierce warrior.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
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Slowly round your back toward the ceiling, tucking your chin slightly and drawing your belly button in (like a frightened cat).—
Stephanie Anderson Witmer,
Health,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced that public mourning for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Mar. 2026
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Noem received a warm welcome from Republicans and intense criticism from Democrats.—
March 4,
CBS News,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Delirious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/delirious. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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