berserk
Syllables: ber·serk/ˈbɜːsɜːk/US/ˈbɚˌsɚk/
berserk noun: synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”).
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Noun
berserk (plural berserks)
- Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”).
- She had heard of his profligacy, his bursts of fierce Berserk-madness; and yet now these very faults, instead of repelling, seemed to attract her, and intensify her longing to save him.1848, [Charles Kingsley], “New Actors, and a New Stage”, in Yeast: A Problem. […], London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1851, →OCLC, page 40
- The Professor, with his face flushed, his nostrils dilated, and his beard bristling, was now in a proper Berserk mood.1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘‘Question!’’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 76
- Synonyms:
- berserker
Adjective
berserk (comparative more berserk, superlative most berserk)
- Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control.
- After seeing his sister stabbed to death, he went berserk and attacked the killer like a wild animal.
- 'You went Berserk. I've read all about it in Hypatia.' […] 'You've gone Berserk and pretty soon you'll go to sleep. But you'll probably be liable to fits of it all your life,' Beetle concluded.1908 (date written), Rudyard Kipling, “Regulus”, in A Diversity of Creatures, London: Macmillan and Co., […], published 1917, →OCLC, page 264
- Bizarre; weird.
- [T]he writer conjured up a dystopian fantasy more berserk than anything you might find yourself listening to in the small hours at the Stone Circle.2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC...
- Wildly joyous; ecstatic.
- In amongst the strife, Scott McTominay, whose stoppage-time winner against Israel sent Hampden berserk, and Ryan Christie offered signs of an attacking pulse.2021 October 12, Jamie Lyall, “Faroe Islands 0 – 1 Scotland”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2022
- Synonyms:
- blissed out, blithe, buoyant, chirpy, blithesome, bonnie, bright, cheerful, cheerly, cheery
Verb
berserk (third-person singular simple present berserks, present participle berserking, simple past and past participle berserked)
- To be or become berserk.
- When great champions went berserking and were angry, they lost their human nature and went mad like dogs.1899 April, G[ranville] Stanley Hall, “A Study of Anger”, in The American Journal of Psychology, volume X, number 3, Worcester, Mass.: Clark University, […] Louis N. Wilson, […], page 522
- I suppose losing one hand made Stack especially sensitive to the possible loss of another. The wound was superficial, but he berserked. He killed the native with a riot gun, then turned it on the rest of them. A lieutenant had to bludgeon him into unconsciousness before he could be stopped.1958 December, Finn O’Donnevan [pseudonym; Robert Sheckley], “Join Now”, in Galaxy Magazine, volume 17, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Galaxy Publishing Corporation, page 28, column 1
- Synonyms:
- go berserk
- To make berserk.
- He neither knows himself nor his outriders; he berserks a fearful dimension and dismounts, miraculously, in bed!1937, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, New Directions Publishing, published 2006, →ISBN, page 87
- O holy Virgin, whereabout / Were you when all the swinish rout / Berserked the town? Those legions of the dead / Move only at the lash of lust. / Pray for us, or we die to trust— / Charred matchwood cursing Christ, who also bled.1981, Roy Bennett, Images of Summer, Sutton, Surrey: Hippopotamus Press, →ISBN, page 76
berserk meaning in Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada and Indonesian
berserk in Bengali
- উন্মত্ত, হিতাহিত জ্ঞানশূন্য, প্রচণ্ড রাগান্বিত, হিংস্র
berserk in Malayalam
- out of one's mind, mad, crazy
- അനിയന്ത്രിതമായ, നിയന്ത്രണാതീതമായ, ഭ്രാന്തുപിടിച്ച, ഉന്മത്തമായ, ഭ്രാന്തമായ, ഭ്രാന്തമായി പ്രവർത്തിക്കുന്ന
berserk in Kannada
- ಕ್ರೋಧೋನ್ಮತ್ತನಾದ, ಕೋಪಾವಿಷ್ಟನಾದ, ರೊಚ್ಚಿಗೆದ್ದ
berserk in Indonesian
- furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
- amuk, mengamuk
Examples of berserk in a sentence
- The oncoming horde berserked through the mine field, York field pieces going off in all directions.1959, Francis Leary, “Rene and Marguerite d’Anjou: the tragic geste”, in The Golden Longing, London: John Murray […], published 1960, page...
- Wind and lightning havocked, berserked in wires, trees.1966, Robert Hayden, “Electrical Storm”, in Selected Poems, New York, N.Y.: October House Inc., →LCCN, page 13:
- You grew cool faster when danger lurked, / Yeah, learned a new yearn when senses berserked.1980, Krishna Srinivas, Winds, Madras: Poets Press India, →OCLC, page 59:
- But the blood was in Mym’s mouth, and his berserker rage was coming upon him.1986, Piers Anthony, “Revolt”, in Wielding a Red Sword (Incarnations of Immortality; book four), New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, →ISBN, page...
Synonyms of berserk
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of berserk
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | berserks |
| alternative form | beserk |
| alternative form | berzerk |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more berserk |
| superlative | most berserk |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | berserks |
| present participle | berserking |
| past participle | berserked |
| past | berserked |
Origin of berserk
The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserker. The adjective is derived from the noun. The verb might partly be a back-formation from berserker, analyzed as containing the suffix -er. Cognates * Danish bersærk * Icelandic berserkur * Norwegian Bokmål berserk * Norwegian Nynorsk berserk * Swedish bärsärk
Words formed from berserk
Phrases with berserk
Words that rhyme with berserk
Questions about berserk
- What does berserk mean?
- Berserk means synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”).
- What is berserk in Bengali?
- Berserk in Bengali is উন্মত্ত, হিতাহিত জ্ঞানশূন্য, প্রচণ্ড রাগান্বিত. See Berserk meaning in Bengali.
- How do you use berserk in a sentence?
- The oncoming horde berserked through the mine field, York field pieces going off in all directions.
- What part of speech is berserk?
- Berserk can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce berserk?
- Berserk is pronounced /ˈbɜːsɜːk/ (UK).
- What is the plural of berserk?
- The plural of berserk is berserks.
Words near berserk in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: berserk (page history and authors); berserk (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); berserk (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); berserk (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-berserk.wav.
Cite this entry: “berserk.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/berserk. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.