Synonyms of panicking

panicking

verb

present participle of panic

as in scaring

to strike with fear

for some reason, the herd of feeding animals at the zoo panicked him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• scaring
• frightening
• terrifying
• startling
• spooking
• shaking
• terrorizing
• shocking
• horrifying
• alarming
• affrighting
• scarifying
• worrying
• frighting
• appalling
• distracting
• giving one the creeps
• making one's flesh creep
• amazing
• jolting
• shaking up
• dismaying
• upsetting
• distressing
• bowling over
• unnerving
• daunting
• disconcerting
• astounding
• disturbing
• unsettling
• emasculating
• awing
• dispiriting
• perturbing
• discomforting
• disquieting
• demoralizing
• chilling
• undoing
• discomposing
• psyching (out)
• flooring
• unmanning
• unstringing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• assuring
• cheering
• comforting
• consoling
• soothing
• encouraging
• inspiring
• solacing
• emboldening
• steeling
• heartening

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of panicking

Any team getting its presumptive starting quarterback back in the lineup for the first time is actually upbeat rather than panicking. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Signs of a low travel IQ include inflexibility, ignoring cultural norms, and panicking over minor issues. — Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026

According to Morrissette, the girl’s father was still attempting to get his daughter out of the water, but had begun panicking and was pulling her down with him. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026

Martha Shedden has spent 15 years trying to talk Americans out of panicking. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026

That number certainly feels like something worth panicking over—the mind balks at all the zeros. — Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 26 Aug. 2026

Her own father at fifteen years old, lanky and inexperienced, panicking at this turn of events, trying to decide what to do, how to respond. — Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

However, if there’s an undesirable brown spider causing concern, there’s no sense in panicking quite yet. — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 5 July 2026

Behind the scenes is Jeanne Gazelle, a frazzled producer panicking over declining ratings. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 June 2026