Literary notes about frantically (AI summary)
In literature the adverb "frantically" is often used to heighten the sense of urgency, emotional turmoil, or physical panic in a character's actions. Authors employ it to reveal a desperate or all-consuming state—whether a character is overwhelmed by passion as their love spirals into jealousy [1], expediting vital actions to avert disaster [2, 3], or even reacting instinctively under threat or excitement [4, 5]. In some narratives, it accentuates both the physicality of hurried movements and the psychological intensity of inner conflict or grief [6, 7]. Thus, "frantically" becomes a flexible tool that vividly conveys moments of extreme agitation and spontaneity across varying contexts.
- He does care—he is frantically ` in love’ with her, undoubtedly, but so insanely jealous.
— from The Flirt by Booth Tarkington - Neville, working frantically to clear the pumps, yelled to the oiler to leave the throttle and come to him.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - I ran frantically up the stair and along the passage.
— from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - “I have nothing, I tell you—I have nothing,” he cried, frantically.
— from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - Then, as frantically as the rebels, they turned and ran for cover.
— from The Desert Trail by Dane Coolidge - She shook her great shoulders frantically, in an agony of grief.
— from Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane - He fought frantically for respite for his senses, for air, as a babe being smothered attacks the deadly blankets.
— from The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane
