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View synonyms for amok

amok

[ uh-muhk, uh-mok ]

noun

  1. (among members of certain Southeast Asian cultures) a psychic disturbance characterized by depression followed by a manic urge to murder.


adjective

amok

/ əˈmʌk; əˈmɒk; əˈmʌk /

noun

  1. a state of murderous frenzy, originally observed among Malays
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. run amok
    to run about with or as if with a frenzied desire to kill
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of amok1

First recorded in 1865–70, amok is from the Malay word amuk
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Word History and Origins

Origin of amok1

C17: from Malay amoq furious assault
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. run / go amok. amuck ( def 3 ).
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Example Sentences

Trump has also fantasized about his own version of “the Purge” where his police and other right-wing street thugs can run amok, killing and brutalizing “the enemy” at will.

From Salon

Police are looking for a group of thieves that are apparently running amok across the city.

Was the decision to block an affordable housing project NIMBYism run amok in swanky Beverly Hills or the reasonable decision of city officials acting in good faith?

The works included in “Gas Station Dinner” showcase Escoto’s ability to flesh out his world, where “uncommonality becomes the mundane” and his devious characters are free to run amok.

At times I feel like we are in a simulation run amok.

From Salon

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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