panic
Pluralpanics (some meanings)
Verbpanics, panicking, panicked
Pluralpanics (some meanings)
Formspanics, panicking, panicked
- 1A sudden strong feeling of fear that makes it hard to think clearly.
Like a loud alarm in your head that makes it hard to think.
Panic spread through the crowd when the lights went out.
She felt a wave of panic as the deadline got closer.
Similaralarm, terror, hysteria, fear, fright
Oppositecalm, composure, serenity
Note
- 2To suddenly feel so afraid that you cannot think or act calmly.
Like freezing up when something scares you all of a sudden.
Don't panic if the elevator stops between floors.
He panicked when he couldn't find his passport.
Note
- 3
- 4
- 5Describing fear that is very strong or comes all at once.
A panic fear swept over her in the dark hallway.
Panic terror spread as the smoke grew thicker.
Similarsudden, overwhelming, blind
Note
- 6
- 7Short for kernel panic. It means a serious crash that stops the whole computer.
The server hit a panic and rebooted on its own.
A panic wiped out everything I hadn't saved.
Note
- 8
- 9To make a computer crash and stop working.
Like one broken part stopping a whole machine at once.
A bad driver can panic the whole system.
The faulty update panicked every machine on the network.
Similarcrash
Note
- 10
- 11
- 12A kind of grass grown for its grain or as animal feed.
Like other tall grasses, but grown mainly for food.
Farmers grew panic to feed their cattle through winter.
Wild panic spread across the dry field.
Similarpanicgrass
Note
- 13The small edible grain harvested from panic grass.
Like other small grains you can cook and eat.
They ground the panic into a coarse flour.
Porridge made from panic was a common meal.
Note
- 14A kind of millet grown widely for its small edible grain.
Like a close relative of the millet sold in stores today.
Farmers in the region have grown panic for centuries.
A field of panic ripened under the late summer sun.
Note
- 15Lower-case form of Panic, meaning connected with the Greek god Pan. Now rarely used.
The shepherds feared the panic powers said to haunt the woods.
Ancient hymns praised the panic rites held in the hills.
Note
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of panic apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
The adjective came from Middle French panique, from Greek panikós meaning 'relating to Pan.' Pan was the Greek god of fields and woods, thought to cause sudden, groundless fear. The noun came from the adjective, and the verb from the noun.
From Late Middle English panik, a plant name, borrowed from Latin panicum (a kind of millet). The deeper origin is uncertain, probably from panis ('bread') or panus ('ear of millet').