frantically

adverb

fran·​ti·​cal·​ly ˈfran-ti-k(ə-)lē 

: in a frantic manner : in a nervously hurried, desperate, or panic-stricken way

searching frantically for the key fob

[Carlton] Fisk stood several feet down the line, frantically urging the ball fair with his hands. It hit the yellow foul pole above the wall, a home run.

—Ron Fimrite

Wine companies, fearing that younger drinkers are slipping out of their grasp, have been frantically trying to create products that will be viewed as edgy, hip and fun.

—Mitch Frank

During the new moon, a hatch of baby sea turtles erupts from the sand, struggling frantically to get to the ocean.

—Bernice Notenboom

Synonyms of frantically

• wildly
• desperately
• wild
• uncontrollably
• frenziedly

Examples of frantically in a Sentence

the veterinarian ran frantically from room to room looking for the escaped hamster

Recent Examples on the Web

The politicians frown as their entourage of assistants frantically jot things in notebooks that seem like they’ll be filed away somewhere. —Óscar Martínez, The Dial, 30 Apr. 2026

Everyone’s frantically chasing metrics. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2026

Law enforcement and Roselin’s friends frantically searched for the missing swimmer, but rescue attempts by Ocean Rescue and the Coast Guard were unsuccessful. —Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026

When the ants come marching in, many of us frantically raid our cabinets and garage shelves for any means of immediate extermination. —Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 25 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1739, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frantically

• romantically
• semantically