amuck

(ə-mŭk', ə-mŏk')
adv.

1. In a frenzy to do violence or kill: rioters running amuck in the streets.
2. In or into a jumbled or confused state: The plans went amuck.
3. In or into an uncontrolled state or a state of extreme activity: "This jam-packed area of Honolulu has come to stand for tourist development run amok" (Ila Stanger).

adj.
Crazed with murderous frenzy: amuck troops.

[Malay amok.]

(uh-MUK)

adverb
1. In a murderous frenzy.
2. In a confused manner.

adjective
Wild with murderous frenzy.

Etymology
From Malay amok.

Usage
"With Lorna Joyce and Niamh Fahy running amok and Helena Lohan often stranded in no-man's-land with no-one to mark ..." — Hanging In; The Mayo News (Mayo Ireland); Sep 16, 2003.

"Saucer-eyed heroines and samurai-fighting teens will run amok in Times Square this weekend." — Joe Neumaier; Daily News (New York); Anime Fest is a Big Draw; Aug 29, 2003.

---

also amok

adjective

Out of control: runaway, uncontrolled. Idioms: out of hand, running wild. See control/uncontrol.

IN BRIEF: An episode of madness and violence.

We don't want everything to run amuck.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: in a murderous frenzy as if possessed by a demon
  Synonyms: amok, berserk, demoniac, demoniacal, possessed

---

The adverb amuck has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: wildly; without self-control
  Synonym: amok

Meaning #2: in a murderous frenzy
  Synonyms: amok, murderously
  Derived from adjective: amuck (meaning #1)

---