Meaning & use
frantic
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Extremely worried or afraid, so upset that you cannot behave calmly.
Grammar: Often followed by with: frantic with worry.
Patterns
- frantic with worry
- frantic about something
The parents were frantic when their son did not come home.
She sent frantic messages to everyone she knew.
He was frantic with worry about the missing keys.
adjectivebefore a noun
Done in a very fast, rushed and disorganized way because there is little time.
Grammar: Often describes effort, pace or activity: a frantic search.
Patterns
- a frantic search
- a frantic rush
There was a frantic rush to finish the project before noon.
They made a frantic search for the lost passport.
The kitchen was a place of frantic activity at dinner time.
Word forms
| comparative | more frantic |
|---|---|
| superlative | most frantic |
Common combinations
- frantic search
- A frantic search of the house turned up nothing.
- frantic phone call
- She made a frantic phone call to the school.
- frantic pace
- The team worked at a frantic pace to meet the deadline.
- frantic attempt
- His frantic attempt to catch the bus failed.
- frantic with worry
- The owner was frantic with worry for her dog.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hysterical
- Hysterical suggests wild, uncontrolled emotion, often crying or laughing, while frantic stresses desperate haste or worry.
- panicked
- Panicked describes sudden fear that causes poor decisions, and it points more to fear than to rushing.
- hectic
- Hectic describes a busy, crowded schedule or period and is not about a person's emotions.
- feverish
- Feverish suggests restless, burning energy and sounds more intense or poetic than frantic.
Opposites
Word family
- frantically adverb
- in a desperate and rushed way
- frenzy noun
- a state of wild, uncontrolled activity
- frenzied adjective
- wildly excited or active
Commonly confused: frantic or fanatic?
frantic vs fanatic
A fanatic is a person with extreme enthusiasm for a cause, but frantic describes a hurried or panicked state.
Practice
With only five minutes before the train left, she made a ___ dash across the station.
Choose one answer.
A frantic dash is rushed and urgent, which fits the short time. 'Leisurely' is the opposite, and 'fanatic' is a noun that does not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frantic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.