Extreme or sudden and causeless; unreasonable; -- said of fear or fright; as, panic fear, terror, alarm.
A sudden, overpowering fright; esp., a sudden and groundless fright; terror inspired by a trifling cause or a misapprehension of danger; as, the troops were seized with a panic; they fled in a panic.
By extension: A sudden widespread fright or apprehension concerning financial affairs.
describes a state of great fear and anxiety with an attendent desire for flight, which was considered inspired by the god Pan. See Echo
Sudden, widespread fear of economic or market collapse, leading to massive bank deposit withdrawals and/or falling stock prices. see also crash, decline, downturn.
In psychiatry, an attack of acute, intense, and overwhelming anxiety accompanied by a considerable degree of personality disorganization.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
sudden mass fear and anxiety over anticipated events; "panic in the stock market"; "a war scare"; "a bomb scare led them to evacuate the building"
be overcome by a sudden fear; "The students panicked when told that final exams were less than a week away"
cause sudden fear in or fill with sudden panic; "The mere thought of an isolation cell panicked the prisoners"
a fear which seems out of proportion to any present cause
a sudden, devastating fear of a market or economic crash or depression that is far reaching throughout the general public
a sudden manifestation of exaggerated public fear and concern over an apparently novel threat" (emphasis added)
A sudden strong feeling of fear that prevents reasonable thought or action. See the entire definition of Panic
A series of unexpected cash withdrawals from a bank caused by a sudden decline in depositor confidence or fear that the bank will be closed by the chartering agency, i.e. many depositors withdraw cash almost simultaneously. Since the cash reserve a bank keeps on hand is only a small fraction of its deposits, a large number of withdrawals in a short period of time can deplete available cash and force the bank to close and possibly go out of business.
verb, to feel a sensation of panic
To panic is to be quickly overcome with a feeling of fear or worry.
A sudden attack of anxiety.
Panic is the primal urge to run and hide in the face of imminent disaster. It is a sudden fear which dominates or replaces thinking and often affects groups of people or animals. Panics typically occur in disaster situations, or violent situations (such as robbery, home invasion, a shooting rampage, etc.) which may endanger the overall health of the affected group.