panic

Meaning

Adj

1. (Greek, alt-of, archaic) Alternative letter-case form of Panic (“pertaining to the Greek god Pan”).
2. Of fear, fright, etc: overwhelming or sudden.
3. Pertaining to or resulting from overwhelming fear or fright.

Noun

1. (uncountable) Overwhelming fear or fright, often affecting groups of people or animals; (countable) an instance of this; a fright, a scare.
2. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis) Ellipsis of kernel panic (“on Unix-derived operating systems: an action taken by the operating system when it cannot recover from a fatal error”); (by extension) any computer system crash.
3. (countable) A rapid reduction in asset prices due to broad efforts to raise cash in anticipation of such prices continuing to decline.
4. (US, colloquial, countable) A highly amusing or entertaining performer, performance, or show; a riot, a scream.

Verb

1. (transitive) To cause (someone) to feel panic (“overwhelming fear or fright”); also, to frighten (someone) into acting hastily.
2. (transitive) To cause (a computer system) to crash.
3. (US, colloquial, transitive) To highly amuse, entertain, or impress (an audience watching a performance or show).
4. (intransitive) To feel panic, or overwhelming fear or fright; to freak out, to lose one's head.
5. (intransitive) Of a computer system: to crash.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Foxtail millet or Italian millet (Setaria italica), the second-most widely grown species of millet.
2. (broadly, countable, uncountable) A plant of the genus Panicum, or of similar plants of other genera (especially Echinochloa and Setaria) formerly included within Panicum; panicgrass or panic grass.
3. (countable, uncountable) The edible grain obtained from one of the above plants.

Synonyms

scare

😨

fear

😨

fright

terror

consternation

horror

confusion

dread

stampede

alarm

turmoil

affright

dismay

funk

tumult

agitation

uproar

apprehension

jitters

rush

be flustered

stir

frightened

trepidation

flustered

freak out

frenzy

frighten

fuss

go crazy

go haywire

jabber

jitter

kerfuffle

lose one’s head

misgiving

noise

over-excitement

pandemonium

panic-stricken

perplexed

rash

rebellion

revolt

riot

rout

scared

shock

⚡

swivet

take fright

Translations

panique

pánico

panico

pânico

Panik

paniek

paniquer

πανικός

pànic

in Panik geraten

φόβος

πανικοβάλλομαι

paura

😨

terrore

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpænɪk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: panik

In summary

The adjective is borrowed from Middle French panique, a word itself borrowed from Ancient Greek πανικός (panikós, “pertaining to Pan”); Pan, the Greek god of fields and woods, was believed to be the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots.
Adjective sense 3 (“pertaining to or resulting from overpowering fear or fright”) is partly an attributive use of the noun.
The noun is derived from the adjective, while the verb is derived from the noun. Verb sense 1.3 (“to highly amuse, entertain, or impress (an audience watching a performance or show”) is derived from noun sense 4 (“a highly amusing or entertaining performer, performance, or show”).