Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Panic-stricken; utterly terrified: Describes a state of extreme fear or shock that is so intense it feels as if one's limbs are weakening or falling apart.
   • Aghast; appalled: Expresses being filled with horror, dismay, or consternation upon hearing shocking news or witnessing a frightening event.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Nghe tin đó, cô ấy sợ hãi rụng rời. (Upon hearing that news, she was panic-stricken.)
  • Cảnh tượng ấy khiến tôi rụng rời. (That sight left me aghast.)
  • Anh ấy đứng rụng rời trước cửa phòng hiệu trưởng. (He stood there utterly terrified in front of the principal's office.)

Advanced Usage

• The word vividly conveys a physical sensation of weakness or disintegration (: to fall off; : to separate) caused by extreme psychological shock. It is often used to emphasize a visceral, bodily reaction to fear.

Variants and Related Words

• Hoảng hốt (adj): to be frightened, alarmed. (Less intense than ).
• Khiếp sợ (adj): to be terrified, dread-stricken.
• Tê tái (adj): to be numb (often from shock or cold), sharing a similar sense of physical reaction to emotion.

Synonyms

• Panic-stricken: Overcome with sudden terror.
• Aghast: Filled with horror or shock.
• Appalled: Greatly dismayed or horrified.
• Terrified: Extremely frightened.

Related Idioms

• Chân tay rụng rời: (Literally: limbs falling apart). An idiom describing the physical feeling of weakness from extreme fear.
  • Nghe tiếng gầm, nó khiếp sợ đến mức chân tay rụng rời. (Hearing the roar, it was terrified to the point of its limbs going weak.)

1. panic-stricken