frenzy

/ˈfrɛnzi/

/ˈfrɛnzi/

Other forms: frenzies

In a frenzy, people go into a state of hysteria. Stay away from hungry sharks or kids at a 16th birthday party when the pizza arrives if you don't want to get caught up in a feeding frenzy.

Frenzy is derived from the Latin word phreneticus meaning "delirious." If you're in a frenzy, you're certainly delirious. You can be in a frenzy because something made you mad, happy, or even just hungry — whatever makes you so crazy you're not thinking clearly. Frenzy is often used when talking about a group of people (or animals) who get worked up at the same time about the same thing, like sharks near tasty fish or teenagers near pizza.

Definitions of frenzy

1. noun

   state of violent mental agitation
   synonyms: craze, delirium, fury, hysteria

   types:

   nympholepsy

   a frenzy of emotion; as for something unattainable

   epidemic hysertia, mass hysteria

   a condition in which a large group of people exhibit the same state of violent mental agitation

   type of:

   mania, manic disorder

   a mood disorder; an affective disorder in which the victim tends to respond excessively and sometimes violently