# hectic

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈhɛktɪk/ · frequency rank #18,851

## Definitions
1. Very busy with activity and confusion.
2. Denoting a type of fever accompanying consumption and similar wasting diseases, characterised by flushed cheeks and dry skin.
3. Pertaining to or symptomatic of such a fever.

## Etymology
From Middle English etik, ethik, from Old French etique, from Medieval Latin *hecticus, from Ancient Greek ἑκτικός (hektikós, “habitual, hectic, consumptive”), from ἕξις (héxis, “a state or habit of body or of mind, condition”), from ἔχειν (ékhein, “to have, hold, be in a certain state”).

## Easily confused with
- **heroic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hectic-vs-heroic)
- **hector** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hectic-vs-hector)
- **hepatic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hectic-vs-hepatic)
- **heretic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hectic-vs-heretic)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ehctic`, `hcetic`, `hecctic`, `hecitc`, `hectci`, `hecticc`, `hecttic`, `hetcic`, `hhectic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hectic