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frenetic

fre·ne·tic

UK/fɹəˈnɛt.ɪk/ US/ˈfɹɛ.nɪt.ɪk/ uncommon obsolete

adjective

1.

excessively agitated; transported with rage or other violent emotion

  • “frantic with anger and frustration”
  • “frenetic screams followed the accident”
  • “a frenzied look in his eye”
Synonyms
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Origin

From Middle English frenetik (also frentik, frentyk, frantike > modern English frantic), from Old French frenetike, from Latin phreneticus, from Ancient Greek φρενητικός (phrenētikós, “delirious”), from φρενῖτις (phrenîtis, “delirium”), from φρήν (phrḗn, “mind”). Doublet of frantic and phrenitic. Etymologically, initial stress would be expected (compare the syncopic form phrentic); the modern pronunciation with stress on the second syllable is due to the influence of other words ending in -etic such as phonetic and sympathetic.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.