frantic

adjective

ˈfran-tik How to pronounce frantic (audio)
Definition of franticnext
1
as in agitated
feeling overwhelming fear or worry the frantic parents were searching all over the fairgrounds for their lost child

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in furious
marked by great and often stressful excitement or activity the holiday season seems to be moving along at a frantic pace

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 frantic Keeping The Faith So all’s well that ends well, and frantic, for Halfway 2 Jesus, Rock’s 13th album and the follow-up to 2022’s angry, politically charged Bad Reputation. — Gary Graff, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2026 Newly obtained 911 audio is shedding light on the frantic response when Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive in a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment in August. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Allen passed for 210 yards and rushed for 121 more for the Bills (4-1), who rallied to win a frantic game befitting the teams with the NFL's last two MVPs at quarterback. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 Kneeling on the floor of a stranger’s home, performing CPR and trying to keep someone alive, often with frantic family members watching in shock. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for frantic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for frantic
  1. agitated
  2. furious
  3. distraught
  4. mad
  5. worried
  6. fierce
  7. frightened
  8. intense
Adjective
  • Pressed by a reporter on a Zoom call about specific players, Wade grew agitated and defiant.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
  • When the door finally opened, an agitated young man who resembled Ryan Gosling (Rett Keeter) shined an LED flashlight directly into my eyes, a gesture that would become familiar over the next hour.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of agitated
Adjective
  • Before long there were three squad cars with lights flashing parked in the drive, with a furious Grandpa Joe trying to sort out the trouble.
    — Kerry Kennedy, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The conflicts are raw and unresolved, and Churchill forces theatergoers to make up their own minds about the characters’ furious dialect.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of furious
Adjective
  • The royal experts agreed that Diana would have been shocked and distraught over William and Harry's current estrangement.
    — Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • While police continued to investigate John’s motive, distraught parents, teachers and others gathered outside the school Saturday to leave flowers, pray and cry.
    — Martha Bellisle, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of distraught
Adjective
  • Richard Dawkins, the British evolutionary theorist and author of the groundbreaking best seller The Selfish Gene (1976), among many other books, appears to have gone a bit mad.
    — James Gleick, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Mel Brooks’ comedy The Producers also took a poke at that mad man with Springtime for Hitler.
    — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mad
Adjective
  • Many were worried that this would lead to productivity losses.
    — Volen Vulkov, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • On Monday morning, a relative of Cantrell who was worried that the baby might be Cantrell’s called police.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of worried
Adjective
  • His successor, Bennett, had been among its fiercest critics, raising the prospect that the arrangement might finally end.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The deadly fire erupted Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where fierce winds fueled flames that spread beyond the installation and into surrounding rural areas.
    — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of fierce
Adjective
  • Discovering that your identity has been stolen can leave you feeling angry, frightened and unsure where to begin.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In one video, a young orangutan can be seen crouching in the corner of a small, dark crate, its frightened eyes wide open.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • George Bonanno, a psychologist at Columbia University, explains that many people who have intense symptoms initially—such as nightmares and flashbacks—won’t develop PTSD.
    — Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Still, the competition among jewelers is becoming more intense, not only for sports team’s commissions but also to design ever flashier pieces with intricate details.
    — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of intense

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franks
frantic
frantically
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Cite this Entry

“Frantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frantic. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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