ENGLISH
REFERENCE

amok

adj.
C2 Proficiency US //əˈmək// UK //ɐmˈɒk// amok

adj. describing a person who is acting in a wild, violent, or crazy way. It is often used to talk about someone who is out of control.

adj. characterised by a state of frenzied, violent, or irrational behaviour. Often used in the phrase 'running amok' to describe a person who is acting with uncontrolled aggression.


SIMPLE

The crowd was running amok after the game ended.

CONTEXTUAL

The police had to intervene quickly as the situation was running amok in the crowded stadium.

COMPLEX

The protagonist's descent into madness is depicted as a series of increasingly erratic actions, culminating in a state where he is running amok through the city streets.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

Borrowed from Portuguese amouco, from Malay amuk (“to go on a killing spree”). The term first appeared in English around the 16th century, associated with the people of Malaysia and Java, first described in the 1516 text The Book of Duarte Barbosa, which was translated to English by Henry E. J. Stanley.

Etymology 2

From Khmer អាម៉ុក (ʼaamok, “to steam in banana leaves”)

Idioms1 entry

© 2026 English Reference