JUNE 18, 2008 | To freak out
The phrasal verb to freak out has been around since the 1960's. It basically means "to go grazy", "to get wild", "to get very emotional". Back in the 1970s it had more of a positive connotation. The famous disco song by Chic, "Le Freak", basically tells you to "freak out on the dance floor". In this usage, it means "to go crazy/wild on the dance floor".
These days, this phrasal verb is still widely used, but it's meaning is almost always slightly negative. "That really freaked me out." = "I found that really disturbing." or "She was all freaked out." = "She was visibly disturbed/shaken." and "She freaked out on me." = "She stared acting crazy/ out of control". Its usage is very colloquial, so it's not really appropriate to use this verb with people who are not your very close friends. It wouldn't be alright to go up to someone you don't know and say "Don't freak out" - Instead, you would use "Don't get upset", etc. :)
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