Frenzy Meaning
/ˈfɹɛnzi/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA state of wild activity or panic.
nounA violent agitation of the mind approaching madness; rage.
Sentence Examples
The manufacturing sector is a frenzy over the new monetary policy.
The rioters were like animals in the grip of a primitive frenzy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The shoppers went into a ____ when the store announced huge discounts.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The announcement of the surprise sale sent the shoppers into a ____, with everyone rushing to grab the best deals.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English frensy, frenesie, from Old French frenesie, from Latin phrenesis, from Ancient Greek *φρένησις (*phrénēsis), a later equivalent of φρενῖτις (phrenîtis, “inflammation of the brain”): see frantic and frenetic. Doublet of phrenesis.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It is during these frenzies that sharks have been known to bite everything in sight, including other sharks engaged in the same activity."
— 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 170:
"At the very end of the Middle Ages, Breughel depicted country folk wrapped up in fits of mass hysteria, and the historical accounts of these rural frenzies have explained the delirium in terms of the slender diet on which the poor had to subsist during the hungry gap."
— 1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 102:
"The early years of Norman occupation saw a frenzy of castle building."
— 1999, Linda Flavell, Roger Flavell, “1066[:] The Normans Begin to Erect Castles”, in dictionary of english down through the ages[:] words & phrases born out of historical events great & small, 2005 edition, London: Kyle Cathie Limited, →ISBN, page 17:
"The poet's eye in a fine frenzy rolling."
— c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
"All else is towering frenzy and distraction."
— 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 18:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The shoppers went into a ____ when the store announced huge discounts.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The announcement of the surprise sale sent the shoppers into a ____, with everyone rushing to grab the best deals.