frantically

frantically

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From earlier franticly, equivalent to frantic +‎ -ally.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfɹæn.tɪk.li/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Audio (General American):(file)

Adverb

frantically (comparative more frantically, superlative most frantically)

  1. In a frantic manner.
    He searched frantically for his passport before the flight.
    • 2021 February 18, David Sirota, “Cuomo-gate: a Nixonian scandal is engulfing New York”, in The Guardian[1], archived from the original on 19 March 2021, retrieved 14 December 2021:
      Amid a cacophony of demands for Cuomo to resign, the governor and his aides are frantically trying to cover up the basic facts of what happened, and that includes launching a Nixonian campaign of intimidation and retribution against Democratic lawmakers who have for months been sounding the alarm.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:frantically.
  2. (UK, archaic, slang) Extremely; terribly.
    • 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
      "Oh yes; come in, Mr Carrados," she exclaimed graciously. "We are not quite strangers, you know. You found out something for Aunt Pigs; I forget what, but she was most frantically impressed."

Translations