as in panicky
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Dissimilar Words
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
Jen Chaney, Vulture, 3 June 2026
The panicked teen heads home and begs stepdad Gary (Paul Adelstein) for one last dose of the magic tincture he's supposed to be weening off of.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026
The story popped online, where some panicked and others joked.
—Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2026
Authorities said school administrators would face disciplinary action for safety violations after an exit door was found to be locked during the panicked rush to escape the building.
—Evelyne Musambi, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Such a relatable perspective proves potent, as Paula’s deft (and not-so-deft) juggling of the actually serious and subjectively serious grows more and more panicked, her problems grow more and more dire, and her solutions grow further and further out of reach.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
The censors must have been expecting a great cans-worthy post and panicked.
—Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026
Financial markets also crashed, marking the quickest descent to bear-market territory in history as panicked investors rushed into cash, in turn sparking a severe credit crunch.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 15 May 2026
Stewart commented how the news media has been overly panicked about the potential for an outbreak.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2026
Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 22 May 2026
Historically, adults panicked about technology kids loved.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Ruff and the Sabres certainly aren’t panicked after one bad game in this series.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 10 May 2026
Kolasinski has said Mendoza panicked and tried to flee when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents blocked his car and did not intend to run over anyone.
—CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Belinda Daniels panicked in 2018 when the pediatrician said her 1-year-old son, Jovanni, had lead in his body.
—Chris Bowling, ProPublica, 15 Apr. 2026
Dube isn’t as panicked about its impact on wages and employment as many other observers are.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
Police said Roediger panicked, fled the scene and buried the gun in a neighbor’s planter box.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
The lawsuit said troopers violated Paez Terán’s free speech rights and used excessive force against the activist, who then panicked and began firing shots.
—R.j. Rico, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
The visual contrast between Patricia’s panicked, mad dashing and the Boogeyman’s extreeeemely slow pace is consistently hilarious.
—Jen Chaney, Vulture, 3 June 2026
The panicked teen heads home and begs stepdad Gary (Paul Adelstein) for one last dose of the magic tincture he's supposed to be weening off of.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026
The story popped online, where some panicked and others joked.
—Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 30 May 2026
Authorities said school administrators would face disciplinary action for safety violations after an exit door was found to be locked during the panicked rush to escape the building.
—Evelyne Musambi, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Such a relatable perspective proves potent, as Paula’s deft (and not-so-deft) juggling of the actually serious and subjectively serious grows more and more panicked, her problems grow more and more dire, and her solutions grow further and further out of reach.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
The censors must have been expecting a great cans-worthy post and panicked.
—Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026
Financial markets also crashed, marking the quickest descent to bear-market territory in history as panicked investors rushed into cash, in turn sparking a severe credit crunch.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 15 May 2026
Stewart commented how the news media has been overly panicked about the potential for an outbreak.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2026
Verb
The mass evacuation in Garden Grove and nearby cities Friday left some residents panicked and confused.
—Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 22 May 2026
Historically, adults panicked about technology kids loved.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 May 2026
Ruff and the Sabres certainly aren’t panicked after one bad game in this series.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 10 May 2026
Kolasinski has said Mendoza panicked and tried to flee when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents blocked his car and did not intend to run over anyone.
—CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Belinda Daniels panicked in 2018 when the pediatrician said her 1-year-old son, Jovanni, had lead in his body.
—Chris Bowling, ProPublica, 15 Apr. 2026
Dube isn’t as panicked about its impact on wages and employment as many other observers are.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
Police said Roediger panicked, fled the scene and buried the gun in a neighbor’s planter box.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
The lawsuit said troopers violated Paez Terán’s free speech rights and used excessive force against the activist, who then panicked and began firing shots.
—R.j. Rico, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panicked
Adjective
-
In the mid-2010s, when every other norm of civility was beginning to fall apart, Jeopardy strategy became a panicky knife fight for the Doubles, the most powerful clues on the board.—
Drew Goins,
The Atlantic,
19 May 2026
-
The redemption requests at Blue Owl included some large institutions and wasn’t just limited to panicky retail investors, this person said.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Lord in your convent frightened me, Jesus with his bloody palms and gaping mouth, eyes rolled back in terror.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
-
Lee Cronin was both flattered and frightened when Jason Blum suggested titling his The Mummy reimagining as Lee Cronin’s The Mummy.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Some worried they might be deported and separated from their families and have even considered leaving the area or the country to avoid deportation.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
-
Lopez isn't worried about meeting someone new.—
Derek Lawrence,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
But the apparent side effects scared him off.—
T.M. Brown,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
-
That same year, Wait Until Dark scared me to death when bad guys terrorized a blind Audrey Hepburn.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Texas State’s Chase Mora greeted USC closer Adam Troy with a monstrous two-run home run to left field in the top of ninth, propelling the Bobcats to 5-4 upset before a crowd of 6,956.—
Jose de Jesus Ortiz,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
Rhodes had plenty to be upset about.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Jim Barne and Kit Buchan were terrified of being outed as frauds.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
2 June 2026
-
High school senior Lexa is terrified about stepping into the lead role in her school’s spring production.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Haymon was much less apprehensive of expressing her opinions, particularly her preference for Gascon’s policies.—
Rafael Perez,
Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
There are even Allure editors who remain apprehensive.—
Tori Crowther,
Allure,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The blast in Indonesia's restive eastern Papua region startled locals with a thunderous boom on Sunday afternoon, emitting a ball of flames followed by a thick smoke column, according to footage broadcast on Kompas TV.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
-
The scale of what is emerging in China’s northwestern desert has left even seasoned analysts startled.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Panicked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/panicked. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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