adjective
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relating to or having rabies
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zealous; fanatical; violent; raging
Other Word Forms
- rabidity noun
- rabidly adverb
- rabidness noun
Etymology
Origin of rabid
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin rabidus “raving, furious, mad,” from rab(ere) “to rave, be mad” + -idus -id 4
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.
When measuring the furiously growing buzz around the Lakers, one need only heed the hopeful cries of one of their most rabid fans, 6-year-old Jackson Tuyay.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
Mr. Smith wasn’t just a “bulldog” he was a rabid wolf hell-bent on winning at any cost.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
Ohio State—with a huge, rabid fan following and decades of winning—had a booster program that few could match and spent accordingly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026
Dozens of rabid bats have been found in Los Angeles County this year, causing county health officials to caution residents in case they come across one.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025
By the time we reach her room, the silence feels rabid, like any second it'll attack and fry my central nervous system and I won’t be able to speak.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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.
