berserk 1 of 3

adverb

Definition of berserknext
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

berserk

2 of 3

adjective

as in ballistic

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

berserk

3 of 3

noun

variants or berserker
as in cowboy

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of berserk
Adjective
This has unintended consequences when both Batel and Spock share a vision that sends Spock into a berserk rage. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 31 July 2025 But that was before Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL tear and before UConn star Paige Bueckers went absolutely berserk, scoring 40 in the Sweet 16. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
Every four years, soccer fans around the globe go berserk over the World Cup, but in host cities like Los Angeles, the worldwide spectacle feels bittersweet and financially out of reach. — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026 Peer in on the New York team making a medium-to-deep run in the playoffs as every New Yorker in your life goes berserk. — Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for berserk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for berserk
  1. frantically
  2. ballistic
  3. cowboy
  4. wildly
  5. nuclear
  6. madman
  7. wild
  8. psychotic
Adverb
  • The trailer begins as Ziegler’s Mae frantically asks family friend Benny, played by a sleepy Rob Lowe, for help after her big mistake — kissing the wrong brother between Graham Phillips’ Andrew and Elias Kacavas’ Theo.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
  • This is a comeback story of the highest order because Taylor Moton's life was at risk, blood was splattered all over his chest, and doctors frantically rushed to keep him from dying from a life-threatening emergency.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of frantically
Adjective
  • Raybould said that money funds the DPRK's nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.
    — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Houthi capabilities The Houthis have learned to combine ballistic and cruise missiles with long-range drones to overwhelm Saudi defenses.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of ballistic
Noun
  • Once a staple among cowboys and railroad workers, the Lee 101 became a symbol of youth rebellion in the 1950s, when James Dean popularized the jeans and helped solidify their association with biker culture.
    — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In the late aughts, the futuristic cowboys of Mexico’s tribal guarachero boom launched superstars like 3BallMTY and Erick Rincón, laying the percussive foundation for Colombia’s guaracha takeover of the following decade and breakouts like Fumaratto.
    — Richard Villegas, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of cowboy
Adverb
  • It's regarded as wildly unethical and cruel, so the rationale for Netflix turning it into a TV show, where 30 people enter a real prison for two weeks, is hard to justify.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Because this animal was thrashing wildly, Packard could sense he’d been picked up in error.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of wildly
Adjective
  • The investment was intended to support reactor design, licensing, and development of a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Both nuclear power and nuclear bombs require a lighter, rarer kind of uranium, U-235, rather than the more common, heavier U-238.
    — Nick Bockelman, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of nuclear
Noun
  • His act of compassion turns the town against them, casting Carlos as a madman and Bobi as a monster and setting them on a devastating path toward violence.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Nothing’s really changed except the weather and the fact that more madmen have the keys to the kingdom.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of madman
Adverb
  • Two more runs scored in the fourth inning when Ohtani, Pages and Freeman strung together three consecutive two-out singles and Keller wild-pitched a run home.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 12 June 2026
  • First, like cucumbers, squash is a wild-growing vegetable that competes for garden space, according to Dilmore.
    — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 9 June 2026
Definition of wild
Adjective
  • Unfortunately, his doctor interprets all the screaming about an alien presence in Thomas’ head as a garden-variety psychotic breakdown, and remands him to a more secure facility.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
  • It may also be used to treat certain other psychotic conditions, such as psychosis arising in Parkinson disease.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of psychotic

Browse Nearby Words

berks
berserk
berserkly
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Berserk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/berserk. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on berserk

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about berserk

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All