as in scares
to strike with fear
for some reason, the herd of feeding animals at the zoo panicked him
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Recent Examples of panics
Rex panics as Bonnie's focus shifts away from her toy box and onto the glowing screen.
—
Nicole Pomarico, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
As promised, Ali shoots him, and as everyone panics and hits the floor, Ali shouts that Alamo Brown needs to come out.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 1 June 2026
The operator who panics at this is the wrong operator.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
The alarms go off, the two get locked in the entry hall, and as Emma panics, Charlie rushes over to kiss her, quieting her fear.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026
The veteran Swedish defender reads play early, organizes the defensive line and rarely panics when San Diego’s aggressive pressing scheme stretches the field.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Me Ree panics after discovering Sarang has gone missing and immediately reports it to the police, turning Mamiew, Jake and Bobby into prime suspects in a child abduction case.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 15 Jan. 2026
Even when the buyer has been preapproved, an underwriter sometimes panics about the looming income interruption.
—Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 10 Dec. 2025
Paulena panics and gets the hell out of there in record time.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
Nicole Pomarico, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
As promised, Ali shoots him, and as everyone panics and hits the floor, Ali shouts that Alamo Brown needs to come out.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 1 June 2026
The operator who panics at this is the wrong operator.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
The alarms go off, the two get locked in the entry hall, and as Emma panics, Charlie rushes over to kiss her, quieting her fear.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026
The veteran Swedish defender reads play early, organizes the defensive line and rarely panics when San Diego’s aggressive pressing scheme stretches the field.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Me Ree panics after discovering Sarang has gone missing and immediately reports it to the police, turning Mamiew, Jake and Bobby into prime suspects in a child abduction case.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 15 Jan. 2026
Even when the buyer has been preapproved, an underwriter sometimes panics about the looming income interruption.
—Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 10 Dec. 2025
Paulena panics and gets the hell out of there in record time.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for panics
Verb
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Gather five of the most relevant comedians working today and ask what scares them most, and the answers vary.—
Lacey Rose,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
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Maybe the strait’s name—Death’s Door—scares them off.—
Charles Usher,
Midwest Living,
26 May 2026
Verb
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But the future Hall of Famer is coming off ACL surgery, might lack mobility, and has a receiving corps that frightens nobody.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
15 May 2026
-
The piercing sunlight frightens her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If hypotheticals about what could have been are a good dream for New York Knicks fans, then Mikal Bridges is the alarm clock that startles them awake.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The project, which Steinberger has rebranded multiple times—evolving from Clawdbot to Moltbot and finally to OpenClaw—largely owing to politics—has expanded at a pace that startles even seasoned AI experts.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Frankly, the thought of being beaten by the subscribers terrifies me.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
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Aubry Bracco is the kind of player who terrifies a certain (male) demographic of Survivor alumni.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Panics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/panics. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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