freaking
part of speech
adjective and adverb (freaking — slang intensifier, mainly US); verb form (freak, freaks, freaked, freaking; «freak out»)
meaning for a pupil
1) (slang, mild swearing) a softer stand-in for the f-word, used to add strong feeling: «It's freaking cold!» tree →
2) (informal) «freaking out» = becoming very scared, upset or excited. tree →
3) (literal verb) «freaking someone out» = scaring or upsetting them. tree →
sense in the lessons
Common among teenagers and in American TV; much milder than the word it replaces but still rough slang. Not for school writing or polite company. US, Canada, and spreading worldwide.
examples
- That test was freaking hard. tree →
- Stop freaking out, it's just a spider. tree →
- This pizza is freaking amazing! tree →
- The haunted house totally freaked me out. tree →
- I'm freaking tired after football practice. tree →
- Mum was freaking out when she couldn't find the baby. tree →
- Where's my freaking phone? tree →
- Saying "freaking" in class might still get you a warning. tree →
note
Trap: it is a minced oath, so some adults still find it rude. «Freaking out» is about panic or excitement, not swearing. Plain words: very, really; «freak out» = panic.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «freaking» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.