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
There are any number of frameworks and factions across two decades of defense officials panicking about the direction of the US military.
—
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 23 Mar. 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
If the Sixers’ fan base is panicking, if there are questions surrounding the team, the players have a calm about them that belies their situation.
—Tony Jones, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
The more transparency and disclosure these firms can provide, the better to keep investors from overly panicking.
—Kelly Evans, CNBC, 6 Mar. 2026
At this moment, Sosnick says, the smart investors will have their heads on a swivel, keeping an eye on private credit without panicking.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Mar. 2026
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 23 Mar. 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
If the Sixers’ fan base is panicking, if there are questions surrounding the team, the players have a calm about them that belies their situation.
—Tony Jones, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
The more transparency and disclosure these firms can provide, the better to keep investors from overly panicking.
—Kelly Evans, CNBC, 6 Mar. 2026
At this moment, Sosnick says, the smart investors will have their heads on a swivel, keeping an eye on private credit without panicking.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panicking
Verb
-
In a story translated from Korean, a ghost aches with loneliness after scaring everyone away; in a story translated from Arabic, a midwife is called to aid with the birth of … something.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Overbey was cautious, though, about not scaring parents.—
Emily Brindley
Health Reporter,
Dallas Morning News,
19 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 31 Mar. 2026.
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