Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Characterized by intense activity, confusion, or haste.
- adjective Medicine Of, relating to, or being a fever that fluctuates during the day, as in tuberculosis or septicemia.
- adjective Consumptive; feverish.
- adjective Flushed.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Habitual; marking a particular habit or condition of body: applied to fever of the form presented in phthisis, characterized by marked diurnal remissions and exacerbations, and accompanied with flushed cheeks, hot skin, and emaciation.
- Pertaining to or affected with such fever; feverish; consumptive: as, a hectic flush.
- noun A hectic fever; a wasting away, attended by heightened color.
- noun A hectic flush.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Med.) Hectic fever.
- noun A hectic flush.
- adjective Habitual; constitutional; pertaining especially to slow waste of animal tissue, as in consumption
- adjective In a hectic condition; having hectic fever; consumptive.
- adjective (Med.) a fever of irritation and debility, occurring usually at a advanced stage of exhausting disease, as a in pulmonary consumption.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of a
fever , pertaining to bodily reactions characterised byflushed or dry skin. - adjective Very
busy withactivity andconfusion ;feverish . - noun obsolete A hectic
fever . - noun obsolete A
flush like one produced by such a fever.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective marked by intense agitation or emotion
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I got married in October, and to say the rest of the year has been hectic is an understatement.
Best & Worst Films of 2008! « Giant Killer Squid - Film, Comics, News, Reviews and more 2009
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The speed is hectic from the onset, but fans of urban investigative romantic fantasies will hop onto THE BRASS BED for the wild ride.
"The Brass Bed" by Jennifer Stevenson Doug Knipe 2008
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The second bit might be a bit too woo-woo for you, but specific intentions are undoubtedly a good way to stay on track in hectic times at work.
Why You Should Plan Your Day the Night Before | Lifehacker Australia 2007
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"There's a certain hectic flush, an intermittent pulse, which convinces me of your painful state, when coupled with the restlessness of the eye."
Mates at Billabong 1911
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Spiekeroog, Germany - The word hectic is unknown on the East
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Forget governing a state, she has managed what could only mildly be called a hectic household.
Jamal Simmons: Michele Bachmann Might Just Smoke Sarah Palin in the GOP Primaries Jamal Simmons 2011
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich canceled a planned Wednesday stop in Carson City amid what aides called a hectic travel schedule.
Rounding Up 'the Rurals' to Corral Nevada Caucuses Jim Carlton 2012
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Just after we came off the air last night Fritz Henderson resigned, following what is being described as a hectic board meeting.
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She recalls a hectic move from North Carolina to Washington D.C. when she forgot to pay her credit-card bill.
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Okay, today I have a fan trained in the direction of my feverish brow, my feet up on a big block of ice, and a bevy of maidens singing softly in the background, to calm my mind as I recall the hectic proposal-writing process of last summer.
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