/ˈpænɪk/
panic
BrE /ˈpænɪk/
NAmE /ˈpænɪk/
[U, C, usually singular]
a sudden feeling of great fear that cannot be controlled and prevents you from thinking clearly
a moment of panic
They were in a state of panic.
Office workers fled in panic as the fire took hold.
There’s no point getting into a panic about the exams.
a panic attack (= a condition in which you suddenly feel very anxious, causing your heart to beat faster, etc.)
a panic decision (= one that is made when you are in a state of panic )
fearterror ◇ panic ◇ alarm ◇ fright
These are all words for the bad feeling you have when you are afraid.
fear the bad feeling that you have when you are in danger, when sth bad might happen, or when a particular thing frightens you：
(a) fear of flying
She showed no fear.
terror a feeling of extreme fear：
Her eyes were wild with terror.
panic a sudden feeling of great fear that cannot be controlled and prevents you from thinking clearly：
I had a sudden moment of panic.
alarm fear or worry that sb feels when sth dangerous or unpleasant might happen：
The doctor said there was no cause for alarm.
fright a feeling of fear, usually sudden：
She cried out in fright.
fear or fright?
Fright is a reaction to sth that has just happened or is happening now. Use fear, but not fright, to talk about things that always frighten you and things that may happen in the future.：
I have a fright of spiders.
his fright of what might happen
Patterns
a fear/terror of sth
in fear/terror/panic/alarm/fright
fear/terror/panic/alarm that…
to be filled with fear/terror/panic/alarm
a feeling of fear/terror/panic/alarm
a situation in which people are made to feel very anxious, causing them to act quickly and without thinking carefully
News of the losses caused (a) panic among investors.
Careful planning at this stage will help to avoid a last-minute panic.
There’s no panic (= we do not need to rush), we’ve got plenty of time.
panic buying/selling (= the act of buying/selling things quickly and without thinking carefully because you are afraid that a particular situation will become worse)
ˈpanic stations
(BrE, informal)
a situation in which people feel anxious and there is a lot of confused activity, especially because there is a lot to do in a short period of time
panic
BrE /ˈpænɪk/
NAmE /ˈpænɪk/
[I, T]
to suddenly feel frightened so that you cannot think clearly and you say or do sth stupid, dangerous, etc.; to make sb do this
I panicked when I saw smoke coming out of the engine.
~ sb/sth
The gunfire panicked the horses.
ˈpanic sb into doing sth
[usually passive]
to make sb act too quickly because they are afraid of sth