amok
/əˈmɒk
/(also amuck)
adverb (in phrase run amok)
Behave uncontrollably and disruptively: stone-throwing anarchists were running amok...
- Countries around the world are facing the problem of anarchists running amok.
- Dozens of riot police ran amok in a housing complex here on Tuesday following a minor accident involving an officer and a local resident, leaving five people wounded.
- Do staff members try to make up for the lack of rampaging aliens by occasionally running amok themselves?
Synonyms
go berserk, get out of control, rampage, run riot, riot, rush wildly/madly about, go on the rampage;
storm, charge;
behave like a maniac, behave wildly, behave uncontrollably;
become violent, become destructive;
go mad, go crazy, go insane
informal steam, raise hell
North American informal go postal
Origin
Mid 17th century: via Portuguese amouco, from Malay amok 'rushing in a frenzy'. Early use was as a noun denoting a Malay in a homicidal frenzy.
If someone runs amok they rush about behaving uncontrollably and disruptively. The word amok comes via Portuguese from a Malay word amuk meaning ‘fighting furiously’ or ‘rushing in a frenzy’. It was first used in English in the 17th century, referring to a Malay person in a murderous frenzy after taking opium.