as in scaring
to strike with fear
for some reason, the herd of feeding animals at the zoo panicked him
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Recent Examples of panicking
However, investors positioning across the region have remained cautious rather than panicking, said García-Herrero, with selective outflows from Indonesian bonds offset by modest net inflows into regional equities.
—
Anniek Bao,lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
Overall a lot of panicking, sandwiched between periods of growth, or even booming growth.
—Alex Mayyasi, NPR, 7 Apr. 2026
Spencer continued to shoot as the children began panicking and the few adults in the area tried to guide them to safety.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 7 Apr. 2026
That’s a sign traders expect a return to something like normal in the next couple of years, which is nice but not exactly helpful for consumers or for US politicians panicking about gasoline prices ahead of the midterm elections.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 2 Apr. 2026
Miami coach Javier Mascherano met with the media Saturday morning before the team headed to New York and attempted to diffuse any suggestion that the team is panicking or in a state of desperation after failing to advance in the Champions Cup.
—Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2026
Last month, Anthropic released a suite of industry-specific plug-ins for its Claude Cowork AI agent, panicking investors over fears that traditional enterprise software-as-a-service companies could soon be made obsolete.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 19 Mar. 2026
VCs are used to working on years-long horizons, while antsy retail investors were already panicking on Reddit about losing $1,000 in just a few days.
—Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
But while Anwar said the bills include no new mandates, thousands of Connecticut residents are panicking about the potential impact.
—Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
Anniek Bao,lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
Overall a lot of panicking, sandwiched between periods of growth, or even booming growth.
—Alex Mayyasi, NPR, 7 Apr. 2026
Spencer continued to shoot as the children began panicking and the few adults in the area tried to guide them to safety.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 7 Apr. 2026
That’s a sign traders expect a return to something like normal in the next couple of years, which is nice but not exactly helpful for consumers or for US politicians panicking about gasoline prices ahead of the midterm elections.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 2 Apr. 2026
Miami coach Javier Mascherano met with the media Saturday morning before the team headed to New York and attempted to diffuse any suggestion that the team is panicking or in a state of desperation after failing to advance in the Champions Cup.
—Miami Herald, 21 Mar. 2026
Last month, Anthropic released a suite of industry-specific plug-ins for its Claude Cowork AI agent, panicking investors over fears that traditional enterprise software-as-a-service companies could soon be made obsolete.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 19 Mar. 2026
VCs are used to working on years-long horizons, while antsy retail investors were already panicking on Reddit about losing $1,000 in just a few days.
—Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
But while Anwar said the bills include no new mandates, thousands of Connecticut residents are panicking about the potential impact.
—Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panicking
Verb
-
And with it almost out in the world, that’s scaring him a little bit.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
-
During the first phase, last spring, before DHS got the infusion of new money, Noem led a shock-and-awe campaign aimed mostly at scaring people into leaving.—
Nick Miroff,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
-
But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The air in the room changed immediately, terrifying little Liza.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Pic was written and directed by horror filmmaker Ian Tuason, and follows the host (Nina Kiri) of a popular paranormal podcast who becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Some cyclists sped by pretty quickly, startling us and our dog.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Hauge called that startling, given that court filing fees alone cost just as much.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Panicking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/panicking. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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