1 frenetic | Definition of frenetic

frenetic

adjective
fre·​net·​ic | \ fri-ˈne-tik How to pronounce frenetic (audio) \

Definition of frenetic

: frenzied, frantic a frenetic attempt to beat a deadline frenetic bursts of energy

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Other Words from frenetic

frenetically \ fri-​ˈne-​ti-​k(É™-​)lÄ“ How to pronounce frenetically (audio) \ adverb
freneticism \ fri-​ˈne-​tÉ™-​ËŒsi-​zÉ™m How to pronounce freneticism (audio) \ noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for frenetic

Synonyms

delirious, ferocious, feverish, fierce, frantic, frenzied, furious, mad, rabid, violent, wild

Antonyms

relaxed

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Did You Know?

When life gets frenetic, things can seem absolutely insane - at least that seems to be what folks in the Middle Ages thought. Frenetik, in Middle English, meant "insane." When the word no longer denoted stark raving madness, it conjured up fanatical zealots. Today its seriousness has been downgraded to something more akin to hectic. But if you trace frenetic back through Anglo-French and Latin, you'll find that it comes from Greek phrenitis, a term describing an inflammation of the brain. Phrēn, the Greek word for "mind," is a root you will recognize in schizophrenic. As for frenzied and frantic, they're not only synonyms of frenetic but relatives as well. Frantic comes from frenetik, and frenzied traces back to phrenitis.

Examples of frenetic in a Sentence

The celebration was noisy and frenetic. the frenetic rush to get every member of the cast in place before the curtain went up

Recent Examples on the Web

In true Missy Elliott one-time exclusive style, Missy’s tour-de-force set featured frenetic choreography, impeccable rapping, and show-stopping production. Sara Delgado, Teen Vogue, "Missy Elliott's MTV VMAs 2019 Performance Proved She's One of Music's Most Iconic Powerhouses," 27 Aug. 2019 The plot goes as weird and deep as players might want between the frenetic action. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Review: Control is Remedy’s best game yet—and a ray tracing masterpiece," 26 Aug. 2019 In fact, the five goals scored in this frenetic match mean that since the start of last season no other side in the top four tiers of English football have seen more goals on matchday than Daniel Farke's Norwich. SI.com, "Norwich Top Goal Charts in Top Four Divisions of English Football Following Chelsea Loss," 24 Aug. 2019 That often gives the book a frenetic feeling as old cases merge and new cases emerge. Robert Anglen, azcentral, "In 'Chase Darkness with Me,' Billy Jensen teaches you how to solve murders," 20 Aug. 2019 The plan: Return the stingy run defense, frenetic quarterback pressure and mostly solid coverage that drove their success in 2018. Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, "How Rod Marinelli uses 'madness' to ‘demand greatness’ from Dallas Cowboys D," 8 Aug. 2019 Murray and the team's other quarterbacks have prepared each time by throwing pass after pass into a series of ascending net targets upon the completion of doing a series of frenetic footwork drills. Bob Mcmanaman, azcentral, "Kyler Murray developed his accuracy with one of Texas' best quarterback gurus, his dad," 13 Aug. 2019 Whenever the snakes show up, the tempo of the music grows frenetic. Travis Deshong, chicagotribune.com, "‘Them That Follow’ review: A pastor’s daughter reveals a secret that wreaks havoc on congregation," 10 Aug. 2019 And while the field was necessarily prepared to spar with each other (otherwise known as campaigning), CNN’s format facilitated a frenetic game of human darts, with questions designed to goad the jabbing. Washington Post, "Can we get past the idea that politics is a reality show? Not if CNN has anything to do with it.," 2 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'frenetic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of frenetic

14th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for frenetic

Middle English frenetik insane, from Anglo-French, from Latin phreneticus, modification of Greek phrenitikos, from phrenitis inflammation of the brain, from phren-, phrēn diaphragm, mind

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More Definitions for frenetic

frenetic

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of frenetic

: filled with excitement, activity, or confusion : wild or frantic

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More from Merriam-Webster on frenetic

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with frenetic

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for frenetic

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