Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

freak out

[freek-out]

Origin

noun Slang.

an act or instance of freaking out.

a person who freaks out.

Also, freak·out.

Origin:
1965–70; noun use of verb phrase freak out

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Freak out is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

any abnormal phenomenon or product or unusual object; anomaly; aberration.

a person or animal on exhibition as an example of a strange deviation from nature; monster.

a sudden and apparently causeless change or turn of events, the mind, etc.; an apparently capricious notion, occurrence, etc.: That kind of sudden storm is a freak.

Numismatics. an imperfect coin, undetected at the mint and put into circulation.

Philately. a stamp differing from others of the same printing because of creases, dirty engraving plates, etc. Compare error (def. 8), variety (def. 8).

EXPAND

Slang.

a person who has withdrawn from normal, rational behavior and activities to pursue one interest or obsession: a drug freak.

a devoted fan or follower; enthusiast: a baseball freak.

a hippie.

Archaic. capriciousness; whimsicality.

COLLAPSE

adjective

unusual; odd; irregular: a freak epidemic.

verb (used without object), verb (used with object)

to become or make frightened, nervous, or wildly excited: The loud noise caused the horse to freak.

Verb phrase

10.

freak out, Slang.

to enter into or cause a period of irrational behavior or emotional instability, as under the influence of a drug: to be freaked out on LSD.

to lose or cause to lose emotional control from extreme excitement, shock, fear, joy, despair, etc.: Seeing the dead body freaked him out.

Origin:
1555–65; 1965–70 for def. 6; perhaps akin to Old English frīcian to dance

Synonyms
3. vagary, quirk, crotchet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To freak out

Collins

World English Dictionary

freak out

—vb
	informal to be or cause to be in a heightened emotional state, such as that of fear, anger, or excitement

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

freak

1560s, "sudden turn of mind," perhaps related to O.E. frician "to dance" (not recorded in M.E., but the word may have survived in dialect), or perhaps from M.E. frek "bold, quickly," from O.E. frec "greedy, gluttonous." Sense of "capricious notion" (1560s) and "unusual thing, fancy" (1784) preceded that

EXPAND

in freak of nature (1847). The sense in health freak, ecology freak, etc. is attested from 1908. The verb meaning "change, distort" goes back to 1911.

freak out

also freakout bad psychedelic drug trip or something comparable to one, 1966 (despite an amusing coincidental appearance of the phrase dug up by the OED for 1749), from verbal phrase freak out, attested from 1965 in the drug sense; see freak. Freak (n.) "drug user" is attested from 1945.

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

freak (out) definition

in.
to panic; to lose control. : I was so frightened, I thought I would freak.
n.
a bad drug experience; a psychotic reaction to the drug LSD. (Drugs. Usually freak-out or freakout.) : Some of them get turned off to drugs by a really good freakout.
n.
a wild party of any type; any exciting happening. (Usually freak-out or freakout.) : There is a big freak-out at Freddy's joint tonight.
n.
a freaked (out)person. (Usually freak-out or freakout.) : Some poor freak-out sat in the corner and rocked.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

freak (so) out definition

tv.
to shock or disorient someone. : The whole business freaked me out.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

freak out

Experience or cause to experience hallucinations, paranoia, or other frightening feelings as a result of taking a mind-altering drug. For example, They were freaking out on LSD or some other drug. [Slang; mid-1960s]
Behave or cause to behave irrationally and uncontrollably, with enthusiasm, excitement, fear, or madness. For example, The band's wild playing made the audience freak out, or It was such a close accident, it really freaked me out, or She freaked out and ended up in the psychiatric ward. [Slang; 1960s] Also see flip one's lid; wig out.

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for freak out? How many words do you actually know?

FIND OUT

Remove ads like these. Upgrade now!

Idioms & Phrases

flip one's lid

wig out

Matching Quote

"The violent illiteracies of the graffiti, the clenched silence of the adolescent, the nonsense cries from the stage-happening, are resolutely strategic. The insurgent and the freak-out have broken off discourse with a cultural system which they despise as a cruel, antiquated fraud. They will not bandy words with it. Accept, even momentarily, the conventions of literate linguistic exchange, and you are caught in the net of the old values, of the grammars that can condescend or enslave."

-George Steiner

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help