frantic
/ˈfɹæn.tɪk/adjective
frantic is spelled F-R-A-N-T-I-C: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, frantic means “In a state of panic, worry, frenzy, or rush” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in frantic?
| Letters | 7: F-R-A-N-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is frantic?
Frantic appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce frantic?
- /ˈfɹæn.tɪk/
Frantic has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-frantic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with frantic?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as frantic.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: infarct.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of frantic
- more frantic comparative
- most frantic superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does frantic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
archaicInsane, mentally unstable.
- 2
In a state of panic, worry, frenzy, or rush.
They returned the missing child to his frantic mother.
- 3
Extremely energetic.
frantic music
noun
- 1
archaicA person who is insane or mentally unstable, madman.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Frantic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense In a state of panic, worry, frenzy or rush:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éperdu, paniqué, frénétique |
| German | außer sich, rasend |
| Portuguese | frenético |
| Spanish | frenético, desesperado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does frantic come from?
From Middle English frantike, frentik, variant of frenetik, from Old French frenetique, from Late Latin phreneticus, alteration of phreniticus, from φρενιτικός (phrenitikós, “mad, suffering from inflammation of the brain”), from φρενῖτις (phrenîtis, “inflammation of the brain”), from φρήν (phrḗn, “the brain”). Doublet of frenetic and phrenitic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).