PANIC-STRICKEN Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

panic-stricken

adjective

Definition of panic-stricken

as in frightened

too overcome with panic to think or act normally The panic-stricken horses crashed through the door of the burning barn.

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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 panic-stricken For the first time in his life, the great shark couldn’t swim freely and, panic-stricken, bolted clear of his world and there was only emptiness, and his tail and pectoral fins were helpless in the void. — Pat Smith, Outdoor Life, 24 July 2025 These are not the first crew members to be panic-stricken by a stray rat today. — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 May 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for panic-stricken

Adjective

Defense challenges claims of disruption Sabatini sought to undermine the university’s account by distinguishing between students feeling frightened and actual interruptions to academic activities.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026
Trust is how that knowledge reaches the next child, and the next frightened mother.

— Michelle A. Williams, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of frightened

Adjective

Since a mass mobilization drive in 2022, which sparked a panicked exodus across its borders, Russia has relied mostly on large financial incentives to lure soldiers to fight.

— Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
Six weeks or so after the Kansas City Royals lost the 2014 World Series in seven games, video coordinator Mark Topping checked his bank balance and panicked.

— Stephanie Apstein, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of panicked

Adjective

Stiven said his wife feels scared and doesn't want to leave their home, but the couple wants to share what happened to her for one reason.

— Dawn White, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026
Otherwise the public realm will grow safer in exactly the wrong way — because people are too scared to use it.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of scared

Adjective

Republicans are already looking at a post-Trump GOP, and the most panicky among them are wondering if there’s some way to avoid it being led by Vance.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Events came to a head months later when a panicky party forced Starmer’s resignation and his replacement by Burnham as party leader and prime minister in July.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of panicky

Browse Nearby Words

panics

panic-stricken

panjandrum

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“Panic-stricken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/panic-stricken. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of panic-stricken

adjective

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