1
as in to bother
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
don't talk about death, as it totally freaks me out
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to lose it
to yield to mental or emotional stress
the landlady totally freaked out when she saw the dead body in the hall
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in meltdown
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of freak (out)
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
For now, though, Chang is in her bubble up north and witnessing most of the freak-outs remotely and not in person.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 14 Jan. 2026
Somebody, the woman had just a little bit of a freak-out for lack of a better term.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026
John Hollinger looks at the Western Conference teams who might already be in freak-out mode.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2025
After Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary this summer, some high-end real-estate brokers confessed to having something of a freak-out.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 30 Oct. 2025
But that possibility is literally dynamited in a vision Daria has of the home abruptly blown to smithereens, the destruction replayed in slo-mo to the crashing squeals of early Pink Floyd, itself a collapse of psychedelic rock’s utopian ideals into acid-casualty freak-out.
—Jake Cole, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2025
The dog remained unfazed during Fowler's minor freak-out.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
Oasis’s last tour, in 2008, was riven by fights, freak-outs, and sibling rivalry.
—Air Mail, 7 June 2025
Noun
This time, Carr’s freak-out was an attempt to stretch the FCC’s equal-time rules to apply to talk shows — both late night and daytime.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026
For now, though, Chang is in her bubble up north and witnessing most of the freak-outs remotely and not in person.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 14 Jan. 2026
Somebody, the woman had just a little bit of a freak-out for lack of a better term.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026
John Hollinger looks at the Western Conference teams who might already be in freak-out mode.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2025
After Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary this summer, some high-end real-estate brokers confessed to having something of a freak-out.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 30 Oct. 2025
But that possibility is literally dynamited in a vision Daria has of the home abruptly blown to smithereens, the destruction replayed in slo-mo to the crashing squeals of early Pink Floyd, itself a collapse of psychedelic rock’s utopian ideals into acid-casualty freak-out.
—Jake Cole, IndieWire, 18 Aug. 2025
The dog remained unfazed during Fowler's minor freak-out.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
Oasis’s last tour, in 2008, was riven by fights, freak-outs, and sibling rivalry.
—Air Mail, 7 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freak (out)
Verb
-
At Brookhurst and Magnolia streets, construction was stopped so nearby birds that were nesting weren’t bothered.—
Jim Radcliffe,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Throughout the day, jot down any worries that are bothering you, particularly the ones that keep popping up.—
Andee Tagle,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That was one of our very strong stakes in the ground, to have a nuclear meltdown where the mountain collapses and Sinatra sacrifices herself.—
Emily Zemler,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
As the old saying goes, when one bunker implodes due to a nuclear meltdown, a second bunker housing an AI quantum computer opens.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In the 19th, Grace Panetta studied the answers in another Navigator focus group, from young women worried about economic ups and downs.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
26 Mar. 2026
-
But residents worry what's next amid heightened military presence.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Modern encryption uses math equations that would take conventional computers trillions of years to crack.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Now cosmologists in the international Collaboration for Observations, Models and Predictions of Anomalies and Cosmic Topology (COMPACT) have pushed, and the tidy picture is cracking.—
Paul M. Sutter,
Scientific American,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
While 88% of companies report regular AI use, according to McKinsey, adoption may be stalling as a result of employees’ anxiety around the technology displacing them from their jobs.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Noise pollution is a real health issue linked to sleep disorders, elevated blood pressure and anxiety.—
Kim Komando The Kim Komando Show,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
And according to a sweeping new joint report from Accenture and the Wharton School, the humans running them are falling behind in a way that should alarm every boardroom in America.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant organizations, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, still have a presence and have been trying to resurface.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
His dad needed to pop in to check something, and what caught Will’s eye was a large drum of polyethylene pellets, the raw bits that get melted down and stretched into plastic wrap and plastic bags.—
Eric Boodman,
Vulture,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The nature of the jobs changed, but employment in the sector did not melt down.—
Letters to the Editor,
Hartford Courant,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
With the documentary world in a financial tailspin, and network news facing new threats under the FCC, movies about movies that once would’ve disgusted me suddenly feel like essential bursts of self-awareness.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
20 Mar. 2026
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At the story’s start Mathilda happens upon a new Transfixion, the obscure Black modernist poet Hermia Druitt, who sends her into a tailspin unlike any who came before.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Freak (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freak%20%28out%29. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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