less common variant of amok

: an episode of sudden mass assault against people or objects usually by a single individual following a period of brooding that has traditionally been regarded as occurring especially in Malaysian culture but is now increasingly viewed as psychopathological behavior occurring worldwide in numerous countries and cultures

Examples of amuck in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Beekeeper At the high end of this selection is this fantastically silly action movie from tough-guy director David Ayer, whose last feature, The Tax Collector, was about gang enforcers and not, unfortunately, about IRS agents running amuck. Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024 There’s no doubt that the movie will act as wish fulfillment for kids – who wouldn’t want to run amuck and get away with it? Kyle Lamar Rice, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2023 In the seasonal story, the Guardians crew enlists the help of riders to save adorable Groot from the monsters running amuck inside. Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 28 Aug. 2023 Things run amuck after a run-in with the Fratelli family, a trio of outlaws hiding out from the cops. Vogue, 17 July 2023 From The San Diego Union, Saturday, July 20, 1935: ROBOT NO ROMEO Alpha Is Home-Loving Man, Says Professor A rumor that alpha, the Robot had run amuck in the Exposition grounds created a flurry of excitement yesterday afternoon. Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2023 There's very little here that’s stagnant on this larger-than-life set as your attention is consumed by animatronic characters that never cease moving, spinning coins and an adorable Yoshi running amuck. Carly Caramanna, Chron, 6 Mar. 2023 This is now in doubt, largely due to protectionist measures running amuck across the globe, including in the United States, but also in the immediate term due to Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ken Roberts, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023 The dybbuk stops here regardless, and The Vigil is nothing if not determined to break out every trick in the malevolent-spirit-run-amuck book to spook, unsettle, and jar you. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'amuck.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Amuck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amuck. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

amuck

variant of amok

Medical Definition

amuck

variant of amok

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