freak out
Britishverb
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Experience or cause to experience hallucinations, paranoia, or other frightening feelings as a result of taking a mind-altering drug. For example, They were freaking out on LSD or some other drug . [ Slang ; mid-1960s]
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Behave or cause to behave irrationally and uncontrollably, with enthusiasm, excitement, fear, or madness. For example, The band's wild playing made the audience freak out , or It was such a close accident, it really freaked me out , or She freaked out and ended up in the psychiatric ward . [ Slang ; 1960s] Also see flip one's lid ; wig out .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I’m telling you, these kids are freaking out — jumping up and down, singing along to all the words. They’re, like, pogo-ing.”
From Los Angeles Times
But the parents have one thing in common: They worry, but they aren’t freaking out.
"It's a concern. We've had cops pull up for minor things and everybody freaks out because today, even if you have your papers -- which they all do -- anything can happen," the 20-year-old said.
From Barron's
Two stupid letters—thirteen stupid words, total—and I’m freaking out?
From Literature
So why is the market increasingly freaking out now?
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
