panic

Meanings

Noun

• an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
• sudden mass fear and anxiety over anticipated events
  • "panic in the stock market"

Verb

• be overcome by a sudden fear
  • "The students panicked when told that final exams were less than a week away"
• cause sudden fear in or fill with sudden panic
  • "The mere thought of an isolation cell panicked the prisoners"

Synonyms

affright, scare, terror