Skip to main content

Furious vs Frantic vs Frenzied vs Wild vs Frenetic vs Delirious vs Rabid

Furious, franticfrenziedwildfreneticdeliriousrabid are comparable when they mean possessed with uncontrollable excitement especially under the stress of a powerful emotion.

Furious implies strong excitement or violence that characterizes the movements or activities of one aroused by a powerful emotion; it may be applied to the activities or to the emotion.

Furious may also mean nothing more than intensely angry with or without an outward display of excitement.

Frantic implies actions or words that indicate temporary mental disturbance under the stress of a powerful emotion (as grief, worry, anxiety, fear, or rage); it usually suggests, especially when applied to actions or behavior, a situation from which it is almost impossible to escape.

Frenzied suggests uncontrollable excitement under the sway of an emotion, often one not explicitly designated, but it differs from frantic in carrying no clear suggestion of a desperate situation.

Wild comes close to frantic in its meaning but stresses a distracted rather than a nearly deranged state of mind; it therefore may be used with reference not only to the effect of a violent emotion but to the effect produced by any undue strain on the nerves or the mind.

Frenetic suggests a loss of balance, especially a tendency to be affected by extreme excitement under the stress of religious or partisan emotions.

Delirious, like frenzied, implies uncontrollable excitement, but it more specifically suggests symptoms (as lightheadedness, incoherence, and wandering) typically associated with delirium.

Rabid applies to persons or to the actions, opinions, or utterances of persons who are possessed by fixed ideas and express them with violence often to the exclusion of all others.