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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

hectic.

Very busy with activity and confusion.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈhɛktɪk/
  1. Very busy with activity and confusion.

    figuratively
    The city center is so hectic at 8 in the morning that I go to work an hour beforehand to avoid the crowds
  2. Denoting a type of fever accompanying consumption and similar wasting diseases, characterised by flushed cheeks and dry skin.

    obsolete
    hectic fever
  3. Pertaining to or symptomatic of such a fever.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

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”).

noun/ˈhɛktɪk/
  1. A hectic fever.

    obsolete
  2. A flush like one produced by such a fever.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

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”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.