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Frantic vs Hysterical - What's the difference?

frantic | hysterical |

As adjectives the difference between frantic and hysterical

is that frantic is insane, mentally unstable while hysterical is of, or arising from hysteria.

frantic

English

Alternative forms

* frantick (obsolete) * phrantic (chiefly obsolete) * phrantick (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Insane, mentally unstable.
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew XV:
  • Master have mercy on my sonne, for he is franticke : and ys sore vexed.
  • In a state of panic, worry, frenzy or rush.
  • They returned the missing child to his frantic mother.
  • Extremely energetic
  • frantic music
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=October 1 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=At the end of a frantic first 45 minutes, there was still time for Charlie Adam to strike the bar from 20 yards before referee Atkinson departed to a deafening chorus of jeering from Everton's fans.}}

    Synonyms

    * frenetic, frenzied

    Anagrams

    *

    hysterical

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Of, or arising from hysteria.
  • Having, or prone to having hysterics.
  • Provoking uncontrollable laughter.
  • *, title=The Mirror and the Lamp
  • , chapter=2 citation , passage=She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.}}

    Usage notes

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