ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈli-stik 

1

: extremely and usually suddenly excited, upset, or angry : wild

He went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.

and the crowd goes ballistic

2

: of or relating to the science of the motion of projectiles in flight

3

exercise : being or characterized by repeated bouncing

ballistic stretching

4

physics, of an object in motion : behaving like a projectile

But the Bell Labs switch uses such a low current that the few ballistic electrons are a distance of a micrometer or more apart …

—Robert Pool

5

of a material : capable of resisting or stopping bullets or other projectiles

ballistic glass

ballistic nylon

… engineered specifically to be worn under ballistic vests and shirts.

—K. M. Reese

ballistically

bə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• angered
• angry
• apoplectic
• cheesed off [chiefly British]
• choleric
• enraged
• foaming
• fuming
• furious
• hopping
• horn-mad
• hot
• incensed
• indignant
• inflamed
• enflamed
• infuriate
• infuriated
• irate
• ireful
• livid
• mad
• outraged
• rabid
• rankled
• riled
• riley
• roiled
• shirty [chiefly British]
• sore
• steamed up
• steaming
• teed off
• ticked
• wrathful
• wroth

Examples of ballistic in a Sentence

she went ballistic when she discovered her brother reading her e-mail

Recent Examples on the Web

In a video conference call with his military leaders, the Russian president said the drills would include practice launches of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles to simulate how officials would act in case such arms were required. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

Together with other systems like David's Sling, which is designed to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles, Israel's Iron Dome is part of a nationwide missile-defense shield over the country, whose residents live under the near-constant threat of attack from its neighbors. —Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2024

Made with ultra-durable ballistic nylon, it’s built for travel, complete with a luggage tag, luggage sleeve, and straps to carry it like a backpack. —Neha Tandon, Travel + Leisure, 8 Oct. 2024

The first launch of Sirius 1 on a ballistic flight will be conducted from the facility in 2026. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin ballisticus "relating to the motion of projectiles in flight," from Latin ballista ballista + New Latin -icus -ic entry 1

Note: The Latin word was apparently introduced by the French priest and polymath Marin Mersenne (1588-1648) in Ballistica et acontismologia, a section (with separate title page) of his Cogitata physico-mathematica (Paris, 1644).

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing ballistic

• ballistic missile
• go ballistic

Kids Definition

ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈlis-tik 

: of or relating to ballistics