adj

ballistic

buh-LIHS-tihk

adj

Relating to projectiles that travel under their own momentum and gravity rather than powered flight.

"The missile follows a ballistic path after its engines cut out."

"Engineers studied the ballistic properties of the new artillery shell."

Extremely and suddenly angry.

"My dad went ballistic when he saw the dented car."

"She went completely ballistic over the missed deadline."

How to Use Ballistic

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishDescribes objects that fly on their own momentum, or — informally — someone erupting with rage.

Common mistake

The "furious" sense is always "go ballistic," not "be ballistic," in everyday speech.

Common pairings

go ballistic ballistic missile ballistic vest

more ballistic comparative, most ballistic superlative

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Can you complete this real example?

The missile follows a _____ path after its engines cut out.

From Latin ballista, an ancient siege weapon for hurling stones, plus the adjective ending -ic.

ballistical

antiballistic guided projectile

projectile guided

holistic sadistic artistic autistic logistic statistic realistic linguistic futuristic optimistic altruistic simplistic

ballistical antiballistic guided projectile