freak out

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 ).

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a person who has withdrawn from normal, rational behavior and activities to pursue one interest or obsession: a drug freak.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

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 phrases

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. 2013.
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Link To freak out

00:10

Freak out is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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

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Collins

World English Dictionary

freak¹ (friːk)

—n
1.	a person, animal, or plant that is abnormal or deformed; monstrosity
2.	a. an object, event, etc, that is abnormal or extremely unusual
	b. (as modifier): a freak storm
3.	a personal whim or caprice
4.	informal a person who acts or dresses in a markedly unconventional or strange way
5.	informal a person who is obsessed with something specified: a jazz freak

—vb
6.	See freak out

[C16: of obscure origin]

freak² (friːk)

—n
1.	a fleck or streak of colour

—vb
2.	(tr) to streak with colour; variegate

[C17: from earlier freaked, probably coined by Milton, based on streak¹ + obsolete freckt freckled; see freckle]

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
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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

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.

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.
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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.

Example sentences

People don't freak out when they see you on the street.

That, and people already freak out about living underneath power lines.

Be calm, don't get so hyped up that you tax an already effected and taxed

respiratory system, ie freak out and hyperventilate.

Now the government is doing more and you freak out, cry and whine that the

government is doing too much.

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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