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Synonyms

frenzy

American  
[fren-zee] / ˈfrɛn zi /

noun

plural

frenzies

  1. a state of extreme mental agitation or wild excitement.

    There's something big businesses love about working their customers into a frenzy of anticipation.
    Antonyms:
    calm

  2. a burst of agitated, energetic action or activity.

    Athens in the late 1960s was in the midst of a building frenzy.

  3. a fit or spell of mental derangement; a paroxysm characteristic of or resulting from a mania.

    He is subject to these frenzies several times a year.
    Synonyms:
    raving, fury, rage, aberration, lunacy, insanity, madness
    Antonyms:
    sanity

verb (used with object)

frenzied, frenzying

  1. to drive into a frenzy; make frantic.

    She was frenzied by fear when she smelled the smoke.
frenzy British  
/ ˈfrɛnzɪ /

noun

  1. violent mental derangement

  2. wild excitement or agitation; distraction

  3. a bout of wild or agitated activity

    a frenzy of preparations
"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

verb

  1. (tr) to make frantic; drive into a frenzy

"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

Other Word Forms

  • frenzily adverb

Etymology

Origin of frenzy

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English frenesie, from Old French, from Late Latin phrenēsis, from Late Greek, for Greek phrenîtis; phrenitis

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But can you make money off the lunar frenzy?

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

The AI frenzy has overshadowed that broader truth.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Adarsh says the frenzy over the film reminds him of the 1975 Bollywood hit Sholay.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

To the world’s grave danger, so does Titan X — a Lovecraftian tentacled behemoth whose emergence triggers Kong into a violent frenzy.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026

Sea breeze whipped Mrs. Cranston’s hat into a frenzy of feathers.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

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.