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freak

 - 6 dictionary results

freak

1  [freek]
–noun
1. any abnormal phenomenon or product or unusual object; anomaly; aberration.
2. a person or animal on exhibition as an example of a strange deviation from nature; monster.
3. 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.
4. Numismatics. an imperfect coin, undetected at the mint and put into circulation.
5. Philately. a stamp differing from others of the same printing because of creases, dirty engraving plates, etc. Compare error (def. 8), variety (def. 8).
6. Slang.
a. a person who has withdrawn from normal, rational behavior and activities to pursue one interest or obsession: a drug freak.
b. a devoted fan or follower; enthusiast: a baseball freak.
c. a hippie.
7. Archaic. capriciousness; whimsicality.
–adjective
8. unusual; odd; irregular: a freak epidemic.
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
9. to become or make frightened, nervous, or wildly excited: The loud noise caused the horse to freak.
—Verb phrase
10. freak out, Slang.
a. 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.
b. to lose or cause to lose emotional control from extreme excitement, shock, fear, joy, despair, etc.: Seeing the dead body freaked him out.
Use freak in a Sentence
Origin:
1555–65; 1965–70 for def. 6; perh. akin to OE frīcian to dance

Synonyms:
3. vagary, quirk, crotchet.

freak

2  [freek]
–verb (used with object)
1. to fleck, streak, or variegate: great splashes of color freaking the sky.
–noun
2. a fleck or streak of color.
Origin:
appar. introduced by Milton in Lycidas (1637), perh. as b. freck to mark with spots (perh. back formation from freckle ) and streak
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To freak
freak 1   (frēk)   
n.  

  1. A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular: A freak of nature produced the midsummer snow.

  2. An abnormally formed organism, especially a person or animal regarded as a curiosity or monstrosity.

  3. A sudden capricious turn of mind; a whim: "The freaks of the psyche can no more be explained than the Devil" (Maurice Collis).

  4. Slang

    1. A drug user or addict: a speed freak.

    2. An eccentric or nonconformist person, especially a member of a counterculture.

    3. An enthusiast: rock music freaks.

adj.  Highly unusual or irregular: a freak accident; a freak storm.
intr. & tr.v.   freaked, freak·ing, freaks Slang

  1. To experience or cause to experience frightening hallucinations or feelings of paranoia, especially as a result of taking a drug. Often used with out.

  2. To behave or cause to behave irrationally and uncontrollably. Often used with out.

  3. To become or cause to become greatly excited or upset. Often used with out.


[Origin unknown.]
freak 2   (frēk)   
n.  A fleck or streak of color.
tr.v.   freaked, freak·ing, freaks
To speckle or streak with color: "the white Pink, and the Pansy freaked with jet" (John Milton).

[From freak1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
freak (out)

  1. in.
    to panic; to lose control. : I was so frightened, I thought I would freak.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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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Word Origin & History

freak 
1563, "sudden turn of mind," probably 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" (1563) and "unusual thing, fancy" (1784) preceded that in freak of nature (1847). The verb freak out is first attested 1965 in Amer.Eng., from freak (n.) "drug user" (1945), but the verb meaning "change, distort" goes back to 1911, and the sense in health freak, ecology freak, etc. is attested from 1908.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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