English Reference
adjective

panicked

adj.
US /ˈpænɪkt/ UK /pˈænɪkt/ pan·icked

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate

    feeling so much fear or worry that you cannot think or act normally.

    characterised by or experiencing a sudden, overwhelming feeling of terror that prevents logical thought.

    Simple

    The panicked passengers tried to find the emergency exits when the smoke appeared.

    In context

    The panicked investors began selling their shares indiscriminately as soon as the news of the market crash broke.

Usage panicked people

Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka regency, said a number of buildings were damaged by the strong shaking and panicked people ran to higher ground.

BreakingNews.ie· 15 Aug 2026

Every day she was getting panicked calls from local farmers who were finding the caterpillars in their fields.

The Guardian· 12 Aug 2026

From panic + -ed.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated