Meaning & use
frantic behavior
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Meanings
noununcountable
Acting in a wild, hurried, and uncontrolled way because of fear, worry, or great excitement.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it takes a singular verb: 'Frantic behavior worries teachers.' Do not say 'a frantic behavior'.
Patterns
- frantic behavior by someone
- someone's frantic behavior
- a display of frantic behavior
The frantic behavior of the crowd made the staff close the doors.
Her frantic behavior on the phone told me something was badly wrong.
After the alarm rang, there was frantic behavior in every corridor.
nouncountable
A single wild, rushed action or way of acting that shows someone is not in control.
Grammar: Countable here, so it can follow 'a' or appear in the plural: 'a frantic behavior', 'such frantic behaviors'.
Patterns
- a frantic behavior
- such frantic behaviors
- one of his frantic behaviors
Running around the office shouting was a frantic behavior that worried his manager.
The nurse noted several frantic behaviors in the patient before he calmed down.
Checking the door ten times is a frantic behavior that often comes with anxiety.
Common combinations
- show frantic behavior
- The dog showed frantic behavior whenever the doorbell rang.
- frantic behavior by a crowd
- Frantic behavior by the crowd forced the organizers to stop the concert.
- a state of frantic behavior
- He was in a state of frantic behavior until his daughter called.
- frantic behavior in an emergency
- Training helps people avoid frantic behavior in an emergency.
- signs of frantic behavior
- The teacher saw signs of frantic behavior and asked what was wrong.
Synonyms and how they differ
- panicky behavior
- This stresses fear and loss of calm, while frantic behavior can also come from excitement or plain hurry.
- wild behavior
- A broader and more judgmental phrase; frantic behavior specifically suggests fast, unplanned activity.
- hysterical behavior
- Much stronger and often suggests crying or screaming, whereas frantic behavior may be silent rushing about.
Opposites
Word family
- frantic adjective
- Feeling or showing wild worry, hurry, or excitement.
- frantically adverb
- In a wild, hurried, uncontrolled way: 'She searched frantically for her keys.'
- franticness noun
- The quality of being frantic; rare and mostly literary.
Commonly confused: frantic behavior or frenetic? frantic behavior or frantic behaviour?
frantic behavior vs frenetic
Frenetic also means fast and energetic, but it often describes busy modern activity rather than a person's fear or panic.
frantic behavior vs frantic behaviour
Same phrase with British spelling; the meaning is identical, so just match the spelling to your audience.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Frantic behavior' is usually uncountable, so 'There was frantic behavior among the passengers' is natural. Option 0 adds 'a' to the uncountable use, option 2 uses 'did' with an abstract noun, and option 3 wrongly uses a plural verb with an uncountable noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frantic behavior”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.