Definition of "berserk"
berserk
noun
plural berserks
(historical) Synonym of berserker (“a Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy”)
Quotations
She had heard of his profligacy, his bursts of fierce Berserk-madness; and yet now these very faults, instead of repelling, seemed to attract her, and intensify her longing to save him.
1848, [Charles Kingsley], “New Actors, and a New Stage”, in Yeast: A Problem. […], London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1851, page 40
adjective
comparative more berserk, superlative most berserk
Furiously, injuriously, or maniacally violent or out of control.
Quotations
'You went Berserk. I've read all about it in Hypatia.' […] 'You've gone Berserk and pretty soon you'll go to sleep. But you'll probably be liable to fits of it all your life,' Beetle concluded.
1908 (date written), Rudyard Kipling, “Regulus”, in A Diversity of Creatures, London: Macmillan and Co., […], published 1917, page 264
(by extension)
Quotations
[T]he writer conjured up a dystopian fantasy more berserk than anything you might find yourself listening to in the small hours at the Stone Circle.
2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, archived from the original on 30 March 2022
verb
third-person singular simple present berserks, present participle berserking, simple past and past participle berserked
(intransitive) To be or become berserk.
Quotations
I suppose losing one hand made Stack especially sensitive to the possible loss of another. The wound was superficial, but he berserked. He killed the native with a riot gun, then turned it on the rest of them. A lieutenant had to bludgeon him into unconsciousness before he could be stopped.
1958 December, Finn O’Donnevan [pseudonym; Robert Sheckley], “Join Now”, in Galaxy Magazine, volume 17, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Galaxy Publishing Corporation, page 28, column 1
But the blood was in Mym’s mouth, and his berserker rage was coming upon him. No mortal man could match the reflexes and power of a berserker; the fact that Mym’s rage was controlled did not change that. “Isn’t that quaint,” Satan said. “He berserks. Perhaps this will be at least minimally entertaining.” He thrust with the spear again, and Mym dodged aside again, but the miss was narrow.
1986, Piers Anthony, “Revolt”, in Wielding a Red Sword (Incarnations of Immortality; book four), New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, page 246
The American held his serve to love, and by way of a flourish sent one of the balls up to his opponent with a courtesy ace. He followed this with a pretended prayer of thanks and a self-deprecating gesture. The crowd berserked. The camera, sneaking another quick look at the chanteuse, was rewarded with the flicker of a smile.
1996, Sarah Harrison, Life after Lunch, London: Sceptre, page 9
“His enemy was France, but he destroyed his own people to be certain of their allegiance. I watched him charge against a helpless countryside. He berserks, slashes, burns—oh, he’s formidable when he wants a piece of ground. Now he covets Aquitaine.”
2002, Pamela Kaufman, The Book of Eleanor: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Three Rivers Press, page 240
I berserked / on my loving dog’s / puppies / Poor Molly / I killed her babies / […] / I berserked in New Hampshire / axing my children’s / chickens to death / in a complete rage / I went berserk / and attacked / the chicken coop
2009, Janice Josephine Carney, “My Darkness”, in Mantras from the Great Void, Xlibris
For example, one year after Omega Man’s release Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (Richard Compton, 1972) depicts scenes of soldiers “berserking,” and Skyjacked (John Guillermin, 1972) pits an airline pilot (played by Heston as well) against a berserk Vietnam veteran hijacking a commercial airplane.
2012, Claire Sisco King, “Unhinged Heroes and Alpha Traumas”, in Washed in Blood: Male Sacrifice, Trauma, and the Cinema, New Brunswick, N.J., London: Rutgers University Press, page 51
She came to a stop before Vaegar and Gaea, eyes darting to Fenris. “I’m sorry. Am I disturbing something? Were you about to berserk the fuck out?” she asked just as casually as she would inquire about the weather.
2014, Mya Lairis, A Guardian’s Passion, Loose Id LLC / Lightning Source, Inc., published 2015, page 158
“I was expecting an ax-wielding berserker at the very least.” “You would,” Grace retorts, but she’s trying not to laugh. “I only berserk on Sundays.” Charity chokes on her cocktail, and Grace leans over and pats her back. “You don’t berserk at all.”
2017, Christina Phillips, Hooked, Entangled Publishing, LLC
Billy was by all accounts to be a Viking. Six feet four inches tall with a blond beard down to his chest, blue grey eyes that seem to never blink when looking at you. Billy was ready to berserk on a moment’s notice and people sensed it.
2020, JD Erickson, The Adventures of the Few and Sometimes Stan, AuthorHouse
Defying musket and cannon blast, they berserk preemptively against the Tlaxcaltecah.
2023, David Bowles, Guadalupe García McCall, Secret of the Moon Conch, Bloomsbury YA
Quotations
O holy Virgin, whereabout / Were you when all the swinish rout / Berserked the town? Those legions of the dead / Move only at the lash of lust. / Pray for us, or we die to trust— / Charred matchwood cursing Christ, who also bled.
1981, Roy Bennett, Images of Summer, Sutton, Surrey: Hippopotamus Press, page 76
After a quote from Miller, calling Bukowski the “poet satyr of today’s underground,” and another from Bukowski, “Sexual intercourse is kicking death in the ass while singing,” Jon worked to lure an audience to see the “world famous poet, critic and storyteller whose Notes of a Dirty Old Man so far has sold 250,000 copies & whose All the Assholes in the World & Mine berserked the establishment to billy-club screams of outrage.”
2007, Jeff Weddle, Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press, University Press of Mississippi, page 148