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
For now, Lakers star LeBron James is not panicking.
—
Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 30 Apr. 2026
Any passengers not knocked out during the chaos or sucked out into the sky are generally screaming and grabbing for oxygen masks while Captain Rich makes a futile announcement about the importance of not panicking.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Apr. 2026
Local television footage and videos on social media showed passengers at the station panicking.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Instead of panicking, get strategic.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
While the situation may feel serious, Lipsher stressed that preparation is about staying ahead of the problem, not panicking.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
Throughout the clip, Bebe can be seen sitting calmly inside the transparent enclosure, seemingly taking in the underwater scenery rather than panicking or fluttering.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 13 Apr. 2026
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
Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 30 Apr. 2026
Any passengers not knocked out during the chaos or sucked out into the sky are generally screaming and grabbing for oxygen masks while Captain Rich makes a futile announcement about the importance of not panicking.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Apr. 2026
Local television footage and videos on social media showed passengers at the station panicking.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Instead of panicking, get strategic.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026
While the situation may feel serious, Lipsher stressed that preparation is about staying ahead of the problem, not panicking.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
Throughout the clip, Bebe can be seen sitting calmly inside the transparent enclosure, seemingly taking in the underwater scenery rather than panicking or fluttering.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 13 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panicking
Verb
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Plus, nobody will careen past you at 110 mph, scaring you spitless.—
Allen Best,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
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This isn’t a film about trauma, or smuggled-in social issues, or anything at all, really, besides the honest workaday business of scaring the bejesus out of its audience, rinsing, and repeating with extra vigor.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
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Starring Kim Hye-yoon and Lee Jong-won, the film follows a road-view camera crew that encounters terrifying supernatural events at a remote reservoir.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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The air in the room changed immediately, terrifying little Liza.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some cyclists sped by pretty quickly, startling us and our dog.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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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 4 May. 2026.
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