panic
1a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.
an instance, outbreak, or period of such fear.
Finance. a sudden widespread fear concerning financial affairs leading to credit contraction and widespread sale of securities at depressed prices in an effort to acquire cash.
Slang. someone or something that is considered hilariously funny: The comedian was an absolute panic.
of the nature of, caused by, or indicating panic: A wave of panic buying shook the stock market.
(of fear, terror, etc.) suddenly destroying the self-control and impelling to some frantic action.
Panic, of or relating to the god Pan.
to affect with panic; terrify and cause to flee or lose self-control.
Slang. to keep (an audience or the like) highly amused.
to be stricken with panic; become frantic with fear: The herd panicked and stampeded.
Origin of panic
1synonym study For panic
Other words for panic
Other words from panic
- pan·ick·y, adjective
- un·pan·ick·y, adjective
Words Nearby panic
Other definitions for panic (2 of 2)
Also called panic grass . any grass of the genus Panicum, many species of which bear edible grain.
the grain.
Origin of panic
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use panic in a sentence
Just two young kids experiencing the panic, pain, and then the miracle, of new birth.
Hence, I suspect, the panic, the lockdown, the capitulation.
Pyongyang Shuffle: Hollywood In Dead Panic Over Sony Hack | James Poulos | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSomeone was sure to capitalize on the Ebola panic, and Dr. Joseph Alton is that guy.
In one sentence, he asserts: “panic is worse than complacency.”
panic—and the inevitable panicking about the panic—is counterproductive.
We stood staring after the fugitives in perfect bewilderment, totally unable to explain their apparently causeless panic.
Two artillery subalterns who had fought their way through a mob stricken with panic for the moment, soon arrived.
The Red Year | Louis TracyHe was naturally frightfully upset about it, and a regular panic sprang up in the neighbourhood.
Uncanny Tales | VariousShe should not show panic because of the mysterious noise in the loft of the abandoned Carter house.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret PenroseGeneral Wheatonʼs brigade captured Malinta, and the insurgents fled panic-stricken after having suffered severely.
The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
British Dictionary definitions for panic (1 of 2)
/ (ˈpænɪk) /
a sudden overwhelming feeling of terror or anxiety, esp one affecting a whole group of people
(modifier) of or resulting from such terror: panic measures
to feel or cause to feel panic
Origin of panic
1Derived forms of panic
- panicky, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Panic (2 of 2)
/ (ˈpænɪk) /
of or relating to the god Pan
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with panic
see push the panic button.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse