as in panicky
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as in frightened
to strike with fear
for some reason, the herd of feeding animals at the zoo panicked him
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Recent Examples of panicked
Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
Her passion is apparent through several tiny pirate ships around the room, the massive oil painting above the hearth, and Brenda’s first appearance being a panicked phone call about the annual Lake Charles Pirate Festival.
—Charles Lewis Iii, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
But manager Craig Counsell was far from panicked when talking to reporters early last week.
—Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Patrons — many just as panicked and some in a drunken stupor — ran by her.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
A week earlier, Sporing panicked after allowing an opening goal in San Jose, then fell behind 2-0 by halftime.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026
Europe, with a total economy totaling $27 trillion, has shrugged rather than panicked.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
The city fell into mayhem as panicked residents fled.
—Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for entire neighborhoods of Beirut’s southern suburbs, sparking pandemonium as hundreds of thousands of people joined a panicked exodus out towards Lebanon’s north.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The company ran two surf lessons on Tuesday, February 24, for guests in San Pancho, a town in Nayarit, and said the clients didn’t seem concerned or panicked in the slightest.
—Jen Murphy, Outside, 25 Feb. 2026
The horses all panicked about the explosions, and so the Shire horse’s anxiety reminded him of that moment.
—Alice Burton, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
Earlier this week, the release of industry-specific plug-ins for Anthropic’s new Claude Cowork tool triggered a broad selloff across enterprise software stocks, as investors panicked that AI tools like Claude would render traditional enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies obsolete.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
Peggy isn’t panicked by her son’s alpha-male predilections.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
The Blue Demons’ guard panicked, fumbling the ball, and Fudd read her perfectly.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
This sudden new reality is why the Bills panicked and just fired coach Sean McDermott despite his 106-58 record in Buffalo.
—Greg Cote
january 26, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2026
Instead of making the easy throw to first baseman Bryce Harper, Kerkering panicked and tried to throw to catcher JT Realmuto, sending the ball sailing over him and allowing the Dodgers to score a winning run and end the Phillies’ season.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Victim Placido Dandrea’s wife was on the phone with their daughter early Tuesday evening when the chaos unfolded — with the panicked daughter dashing out from their home only to find her dad mortally injured — a neighbor said.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
Her passion is apparent through several tiny pirate ships around the room, the massive oil painting above the hearth, and Brenda’s first appearance being a panicked phone call about the annual Lake Charles Pirate Festival.
—Charles Lewis Iii, Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2026
But manager Craig Counsell was far from panicked when talking to reporters early last week.
—Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Patrons — many just as panicked and some in a drunken stupor — ran by her.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
A week earlier, Sporing panicked after allowing an opening goal in San Jose, then fell behind 2-0 by halftime.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026
Europe, with a total economy totaling $27 trillion, has shrugged rather than panicked.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
The city fell into mayhem as panicked residents fled.
—Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for entire neighborhoods of Beirut’s southern suburbs, sparking pandemonium as hundreds of thousands of people joined a panicked exodus out towards Lebanon’s north.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Verb
The dollar surged as the war in the Middle East panicked investors and stoked US inflation fears.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The company ran two surf lessons on Tuesday, February 24, for guests in San Pancho, a town in Nayarit, and said the clients didn’t seem concerned or panicked in the slightest.
—Jen Murphy, Outside, 25 Feb. 2026
The horses all panicked about the explosions, and so the Shire horse’s anxiety reminded him of that moment.
—Alice Burton, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
Earlier this week, the release of industry-specific plug-ins for Anthropic’s new Claude Cowork tool triggered a broad selloff across enterprise software stocks, as investors panicked that AI tools like Claude would render traditional enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies obsolete.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2026
Peggy isn’t panicked by her son’s alpha-male predilections.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
The Blue Demons’ guard panicked, fumbling the ball, and Fudd read her perfectly.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
This sudden new reality is why the Bills panicked and just fired coach Sean McDermott despite his 106-58 record in Buffalo.
—Greg Cote
january 26, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2026
Instead of making the easy throw to first baseman Bryce Harper, Kerkering panicked and tried to throw to catcher JT Realmuto, sending the ball sailing over him and allowing the Dodgers to score a winning run and end the Phillies’ season.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panicked
Adjective
-
Then her daughter’s voice grew panicky.—
Sarah Hepola,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Cuomo and his panicky allies need the pollsters to be wrong again; maybe with a surge of older voters, maybe if Republican Curtis Sliwa’s supporters desert him.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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That habit didn’t endear the Alspaws to anyone nearby, including one neighbor who threatened to shoot Brittany after the Alspaws frightened his horses.—
Tessa Stuart,
Rolling Stone,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Konstantin, 4, a sociable boy, is often frightened by loud noises and guards, his parents said.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
13 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
-
But Boone wasn’t too worried about the right-hander’s velocity in early February.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Greene leaves big and loud shoes to fill, but her larger-than-life presence in Washington hasn't scared away candidates hoping to replace her.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
-
That term definitely scared off some other teams.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Frogs made enough big shots in the final minutes to prevent another upset.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
7 Mar. 2026
-
However, other kids of the same age range might be more upset by the violence and harsh realities of nature—especially the ruthless and brutal of hierarchy of nature during the dinosaur years.—
Alex Shoemaker,
Parents,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Public testimony stretched for hours, where speakers shared concerns that the legislation could have legal repercussions, disrupt community relationships with local law enforcement and make immigrants terrified to interact with police, school or hospital staff.—
Marissa Meador,
IndyStar,
5 Mar. 2026
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Pilgrim Mariana Muicaru said she was terrified during her time in Israel as rockets flew across the sky.—
Stefanie Dazio,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
While the basics of gardening remain the same, proper watering, light, fertilizing, and pest control are key; some new vegetable gardeners may feel apprehensive about taking those first steps.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
25 Feb. 2026
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Others remain apprehensive about the ongoing therapies and medications that will continue to change their quality of life, coupled with the anxiety of the cancer returning.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors allege Joshua Alvarado, 30, passed out at the wheel of his pickup truck while driving to work and was startled awake by other drivers honking at him.—
Katie Houlis,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
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In the early hours of Sunday morning, as a bar in a busy nightlife district of Austin, Texas, prepared to close for the night, patrons and staff were startled by the sound of gunshots.—
Amanda Musa,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Panicked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/panicked. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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