hectic
Syllables: hec·tic/ˈhɛktɪk/
hectic adjective: very busy with activity and confusion.
Adjective
hectic (comparative more hectic, superlative most hectic)
- Very busy with activity and confusion.
- The city center is so hectic at 8 in the morning that I go to work an hour beforehand to avoid the crowds
- Phoenix:It must have been too hectic that night to clean up.2007 March 16, Capcom Production Studio 4, quoting Phoenix, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, Europe: Capcom, →OCLC, Nintendo DS, scene: Part 3: Investigation, Cafeteria, level/area...
- Synonyms:
- feverish
- Denoting a type of fever accompanying consumption and similar wasting diseases, characterised by flushed cheeks and dry skin.
- hectic fever
- Pertaining to or symptomatic of such a fever.
- Ann had a hectic cough, and many unfavourable prognostics […].1788, Mary Wollstonecraft, chapter VI, in Mary: A Fiction
- She never complained, but sleep and appetite fled from her, a slow fever preyed on her veins, her colour was hectic, and she often wept in secret […].1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in The Last Man. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC
Noun
hectic (plural hectics)
- A hectic fever.
- […] Do it England, / For like the Hecticke in my blood he rages, / And thou muſt cure me: […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- A flush like one produced by such a fever.
- The poor Franciscan made no reply: a hectic of a moment pass’d across his cheek, but could not tarry […]1768, Mr. Yorick [pseudonym; Laurence Sterne], A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, volume I, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […], →OCLC, page 17
- For still he lay, and on his thin worn cheek / A purple hectic played like dying day / On the snow-tops of distant hills […]1819 July 15, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, canto II, stanza 147
hectic meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
hectic in Tamil
- சுறுசுறுப்பான, பரபரப்பான, ஒய்வற்றவேலை
hectic in Bengali
- অত্যন্ত ব্যস্ত, উত্তেজনাপূর্ণ, জ্বরতপ্ত
hectic in Malayalam
- അമിതമായ, ചുവന്ന, സജീവമായ, ഊർജ്ജസ്വലമായ
hectic in Kannada
- ಭಾವೋದ್ರೇಕದ, ರಭಸದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳ, ಬಿಡುವಿಲ್ಲದ ಕೆಲಸಗಳು ಸೇರಿದ, ಬಿಡುವಿಲ್ಲದ, ಗೊಂದಲದ
Examples of hectic in a sentence
- Her class schedule is really hectic because she's a double major in dance and biochemistry.
- My life is so hectic these days that I don't know whether I'm coming or going.
- I sat through the dregs of a long hectic evening.
Synonyms of hectic
Forms of hectic
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more hectic |
| superlative | most hectic |
| alternative form (obsolete) | hectick |
| alternative form (archaic) | hectical |
| Noun | |
| plural | hectics |
Origin of hectic
From Middle English etik, ethik, from Old French etique, from Medieval Latin *hecticus, from Ancient Greek ἑκτικός (hektikós, “habitual, hectic, consumptive”), from ἕξις (héxis, “a state or habit of body or of mind, condition”), from ἔχειν (ékhein, “to have, hold, be in a certain state”).
Words formed from hectic
Words that rhyme with hectic
- symplectic
- apoplectic
- dialectic
- smectic
- analectic
- anorectic
- catalectic
- eclectic
- eutectic
- monolectic
- pectic
- plectic
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- polylectic
- syntectic
- acatalectic
- acathectic
- anatectic
- antiapoplectic
- anticachectic
- anticataplectic
- anticathectic
- antiplectic
- brachycatalectic
- cachectic
- cataplectic
- catatectic
- cathectic
- cosymplectic
- cotectic
- countercathectic
- demodectic
- diaplectic
- dicatalectic
- dyslectic
- dystectic
- ecolectic
- ephectic
- hyosymplectic
- hypercatalectic
- hypereutectic
- hypoeutectic
- ideolectic
- idiolectic
- karyorrhectic
- lectic
- metaplectic
- metatectic
- methectic
- metriplectic
- monotectic
- multisymplectic
- nektic
- nondialectic
- noneclectic
- nonsymplectic
- oligolectic
- orectic
- orthosymplectic
- paraplectic
- periplectic
Questions about hectic
- What does hectic mean?
- Hectic means very busy with activity and confusion.
- What is hectic in Tamil?
- Hectic in Tamil is சுறுசுறுப்பான, பரபரப்பான, ஒய்வற்றவேலை. See Hectic meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is hectic?
- Hectic can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce hectic?
- Hectic is pronounced /ˈhɛktɪk/.
Words near hectic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hectic (page history and authors); hectic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Hectic (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hectic (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hectic (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hectic.wav.
Cite this entry: “hectic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hectic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.