adjective
hectic
HEHK-tihk
adjective
1
Extremely busy, rushed, and full of activity, often to a stressful degree.
"Mornings in our house are hectic — three kids, two dogs, and one bathroom."
"It's been a hectic week at work with the product launch."
How to Use Hectic
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSo busy and full of activity that it feels chaotic or exhausting.
Common pairings
a hectic schedule
hectic pace
life got hectic
Word Forms
more hectic comparative, hectics plural, most hectic superlative
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Mornings in our house are _____ — three kids, two dogs, and one bathroom.
Etymology
Originally a medical term for a wasting fever that caused flushed cheeks, from Greek hektikos, "habitual" or "consumptive." Its modern sense of "frantically busy" developed much later, by association with the feverish, agitated feeling such an illness produced.