run amok
Lose all control
To run amok is to go on a violent rampage or behave wildly out of control.
The phrase comes from a Malay word for a frenzied attack.
Now it often describes anything that has gotten chaotically out of hand: Weeds have run amok in the garden, The kids ran amok while the babysitter was on the phone.
Also spelled run amuck.
- berserkWildly, violently uncontrolled
- go berserkLose all self-control violently
- rampageViolent, destructive outburst
- go postalSuddenly become violently angry
- lose controlFail to maintain composure
frenzy · mayhem · on a tear · rage · unchecked · off the rails · wreak havoc · chaos · havoc · psychosis · killing spree · pandemonium · bedlam · lose one's mind · get medieval · uncontrolled · going nuts · crazed
- escalationescalation, escalate, ratchet up, worsen, intensify
- going too faroverdo, overstepping, crossing the line, overstep, cross the line
behavioral control
run amokkeep calm
Remain emotionally steady
hold back · keep one's cool · behave oneself · toe the line · hold it together
run, runner, running, runs, overrun, outrun, rundown, amok, runners