panic

Noun

• sudden mass fear and anxiety over anticipated events
  • panic in the stock market
    
  • a war scare
    
  • a bomb scare led them to evacuate the building
    

• an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety

Verb

• cause sudden fear in or fill with sudden panic
  • The mere thought of an isolation cell panicked the prisoners
    

• be overcome by a sudden fear
  • The students panicked when told that final exams were less than a week away
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  scare , terror , affright