Standard Lemma guide

berserk

adj · noun · verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbɜːsɜːk/
  • General-American: /ˈbɚˌsɚk/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /bəˈzɜːk/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /bɜː-/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-ˈsɜːk/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /bɚˈsɚk/
  • General-American: /-ˈzɚk/
  • /bəˈsɚk/ General American, r-dissimilation
  • /-ˈzɚk/ General American, r-dissimilation
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)k
  • CMU ARPABET: B ER0 S ER1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • After seeing his sister stabbed to death, he went berserk and attacked the killer like a wild animal.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Bizarre; weird.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Wildly joyous; ecstatic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, dialectal, rare, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: berserk, blissed out, blithe, buoyant, chirpy, blithesome, bonnie, bright, cheerful, cheerly, cheery, chuffed, cock-a-hoop, content, contented, convivial, delighted, ebullient, ecstatic, elated, enthusiastic, euphoric, excited, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, fat and happy, gassed, gay, gayful, giddy, glad, gladsome, gleeful, gleesome, happy, hearty, hyped, high on life, jovial, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthsome, on cloud nine, overjoyed, overjoyous, over the moon, pacific, perky, placated, pleased, satisfied, stoked, thrilled, tickled pink, triumphant, vivacious, wealful, happy as a clam, happy as a clam at high water, happy as a lark, happy as a pig in mud, happy as a pig in shit, happy as a prince, happy as Larry, happy as the day is long, merry as a cricket, merry as a grig

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: berserker

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To be or become berserk.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: go berserk

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To make berserk.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

frenzied as if possessed by a demon

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the soldier was completely amuck
  • berserk with grief
  • a berserk worker smashing windows

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: amuck, amok, demoniac, demoniacal, possessed(p)

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

one of the ancient Norse warriors legendary for working themselves into a frenzy before a battle and fighting with reckless savagery and insane fury

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: berserker

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Scandinavian, Norse, Northman

History

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights in a frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins which the warriors wore. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bherH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), referring to warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserker. The adjective is derived from the noun. The verb might partly be a back-formation from berserker, analyzed as containing the suffix -er. Cognates * Danish bersærk * Icelandic berserkur * Norwegian Bokmål berserk * Norwegian Nynorsk berserk * Swedish bärsärk

Across languages

Translations

41 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 狂暴 (kuángbào) — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Dutch: doorgedraaid — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Dutch: geflipt — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Finnish: raivopäinen — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • French: fou furieux — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • German: ausgeflippt — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • German: durchgedreht — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • German: rasend — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • German: wütend — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Indonesian: amuk — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Indonesian: mengamuk — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Italian: folle — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Italian: frenetico — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Italian: furioso — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Japanese: 凶暴な (kyōbō na) — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Macedonian: збе́снат (zbésnat) — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Portuguese: fora de controle — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Russian: бе́шеный (béšenyj) — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Russian: исступлённый (isstupljónnyj) — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Russian: я́ростный (járostnyj) — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Russian: неи́стовый (neístovyj) — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Spanish: desbocado — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Spanish: desmedido — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Spanish: desmadrado — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Swedish: (gå) bärsärkagång — furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control
  • Armenian: բերսերկ (berserk) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Azerbaijani: berserk — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Bulgarian: берсерк (berserk) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Czech: berserk — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Danish: bersærk — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Finnish: berserkki — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • French: berserk — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Japanese: ベルセルク (beruseruku) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Kazakh: берсерк (berserk) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Macedonian: берсе́рк (bersérk) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Norwegian Bokmål: berserk — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Polish: berserk — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Russian: берсе́рк (bersérk) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Russian: береза́рк (berezárk) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Swedish: bärsärk — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker
  • Ukrainian: берсерк (berserk) — Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy — see also berserker