as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner
the familiar scene in horror movies where everyone runs berserk as the monster destroys everything in sight
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ballistic
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
variants
or berserker
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of berserk
Chris Richards, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
The bounce is outrageous, the handclaps are berserk, and Myaap is as restless as ever, even rapping through the soaring chorus when most would just use it as a breather.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2023
Jamie Carter, Space.com, 29 Dec. 2024
There’s no evidence to suggest that the bear went berserk after overdosing, as the trailer, which went viral in December, shows.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for berserk
Adverb
Which, of course, drove the audience completely berserk.
—Chris Richards, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
The bounce is outrageous, the handclaps are berserk, and Myaap is as restless as ever, even rapping through the soaring chorus when most would just use it as a breather.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2023
Adjective
This annual meteor shower tends to go berserk every 33 years, but sadly, the next bonanza isn't due until 2032-33, according to Sky At Night.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 29 Dec. 2024
There’s no evidence to suggest that the bear went berserk after overdosing, as the trailer, which went viral in December, shows.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for berserk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for berserk
Adverb
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Soda had left campus just 30 minutes before the shooting happened, and was texting frantically with colleagues during the attack.—
Pien Huang,
NPR,
20 Aug. 2025
-
Democrats in the Legislature are spending their first week back from summer recess frantically redrawing the state’s congressional maps in response to redistricting efforts in Texas.—
Jon Coupal,
Oc Register,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Even as Trump touted his plan for peace talks, Russia on Thursday launched one of its biggest aerial assaults so far this year, focusing on western Ukraine in the barrage of 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles.—
Aamer Madhani,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Aug. 2025
-
The rest of the attack involved ballistic or cruise missiles.—
Robert Birsel
Shane Croucher
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Once notorious for gamblers and cowboys, today Whiskey Row is lined with bars, shops and art galleries.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Expect to see Wild West performances on and off the train, like a tussle between the Cataract Creek Gang and the town Marshall on the departure platform, a robbery from rowdy cowboys on horseback who hop aboard the train, and banjo players serenading guests with western tunes.—
Nicole Edenedo,
AFAR Media,
26 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
The Beatles had arrived in Chicago red-hot, in the middle of a wildly popular national tour that began with the famous concert in New York’s Shea Stadium.—
Michael Peregrine,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Aug. 2025
-
Mario Kart veterans must spend time unlearning their drifting muscle memory due to Air Riders' wildly different angles and timing.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
This new version understands the overall assignment: bring back a few familiar faces; reintroduce your resident homicidal maniac hellbent on revenge; gather an insanely photogenic cast and kill most of them.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
16 July 2025
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Based on Roth’s fictitious trailer of the same name that appeared in Grindhouse (2007), Thanksgiving takes place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where a masked maniac terrorizes the residents one year after a Black Friday riot ended in tragedy.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
Instead, all the chatter on that October 2005 morning was focused on the absolute madman chain-smoking and mainlining coffee to a degree never witnessed before.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
30 July 2025
-
The diary of havoc blended with the diary of a madman to create the best Rockies walk-up song ever.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
24 July 2025
Adverb
-
All of it wild-caught.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
orlandosentinel.com,
14 Aug. 2020
-
Our first stop is in a wild-looking stretch 200 yards south of the railroad tracks and State Street.—
Paul A. Smith,
Journal Sentinel,
2 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
On June 22, the United States launched an attack on Fordo, an Iranian nuclear enrichment facility buried deep within a mountain, using the deepest-penetrating conventional bomb the United States has ever built.—
Samuel Granados,
New York Times,
20 Aug. 2025
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Alberta’s 2001 Chisholm fire released so much energy that someone in Washington thought that Canada had detonated a nuclear bomb.—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Berserk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/berserk. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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