Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to lose psychological control, whether enjoyably or otherwise, as the result of drugs, usu. hallucinogens, or occas. alcohol (see cite 1970); usu. as freaking.

1969		E. Leonard Big Bounce 92: ‘[S]itting around all day while everybody got stoned. By five o’clock they’d be freaked out of their minds’.
1970		J. Carroll ‘The Basketball Diaries’ in Paris Review Fall 113: Willie was famous for going on the wagon for one month or so and then freaking onto a four or five month binge that would mean almost 2 qts. of straight whiskey a day .
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1994		Eble Campus Sl. Apr. 4: freak – to act out of control.
2000		W.D. Myers ‘A Story in Three Parts’ in 145th Street 127: He had paid twenty dollars for the hit and Sweet Jimmy’s stuff was correct but now he was freaking because of the guy watching him.
2005		L. Redhead Rubdown [ebook] I’m not a freak, I just like to freak.
2012		C. Stella Rough Riders 25: She half naked in that robe [...] Kincaid went off, man. The Indian freaked.
2021		L. McInerney Rules of Revelation 55: ‘Jesus Christ,’ Natalie said. ‘He is going to fucking freak’.

2. (also freak one’s mind) to worry someone, to disturb, to cause severe anxiety (the extent of the disturbance varies totally as to context) (cf. freak out v. (2)).

1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 94: You freak me grandpa.
1966		R. Stone Hall of Mirrors (1987) 225: ‘No, no,’ the girl said. ‘It’ll freak him.’.
1976		P. Theroux Family Arsenal 247: He watched the play proceed, with gaps and accidents freaking the self-conscious design.
1974		R. Dennis Deadly Cotton Heart in Complete Hardman 1084: ‘It freaks me some [...] the girl had hooked some, that didn’t bother me. But this...’.
1979		Lette & Carey Puberty Blues 59: It freaked me and I ran outside.
1980		Eble Campus Sl. Fall 3: freak my mind – have a shocking, puzzling, different mental experience: ‘Talking to that man really freaked my mind’.
2000		M. Collins Keepers of Truth 146: Pete turned his head and listened to the cries. He said, ‘That always freaked me, them animals.’.

3. to worry, to be worried, to be severely anxious.

1977		C. McFadden Serial 28: Martha was particularly freaked when she learned [...] that Harvey was now involved with Carol. [Ibid.] 73: Kate and Harvey would have freaked if they knew she was hitching.
1984		B. Ellem Doing Time 158: A lot of people thought I was being cold, but that wasn’t true. I was freaked.
1992		Eble Campus Sl. Apr. 4: freak – act excessively nervous.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 133: She freaked but was hooked on the life.
1999		Guardian G2 24 Aug. 14: Should we be freaked by these possibly guileless images?
1999		Guardian G2 23 Sept. 12: I [...] freaked myself sick with apprehension.
2004		T. Winton ‘Small Mercies’ in Turning (2005) 94: Your parents know you’re here? Yeah. They’re freaking.
2012		(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 448: Molly’s freaked by it [i.e. an anecdote] and Tom chivalrously attempts to distract her.

4. (also freak on) to act in an emotional, melodramatic manner; thus freaked adj., emotionally overwhelmed.

1963–74		B. Humphries Barry McKenzie [comic strip] in Complete Barry McKenzie (1988) 44: They’ll really freak.
1974		(con. 1960s) R. Price Wanderers 197: The regulars were [...] shrieking and freaking like a strung-out Greek chorus.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 175: I freaked! Started runnin’ through the projects, yellin’, ‘Pigs after me!’.
1989		(con. 1950s–60s) in G. Tremlett Little Legs 32: They just freak.
2000		T. Blacker Kill Your Darlings 288: Poor Dad. No wonder he was freaked.
2004		J. Ellroy ‘Jungletown Jihad’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 352: He humps homos. [...] The fruitcake Freddies freak.
2004		W.D. Myers Shooter 52: RE: You liked shooting? CP: Yeah. It was okay. I wasn’t freaking on it or anything, but I did like it.
2010		Codella and Bennett Alphaville (2011) 336: ‘Fuck you! I’ve killed people for less!’ ‘Don’t fucking freak, yo, I’ll get you the rest [of the money]’.
2015		J. Stahl OG Dad 5: I was shooting Mexican tar [...] freaking when the nurse banged on the door and told me the baby was coming.

5. (US gay) to be uninhibited, esp. at a party.

1972

B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 85: freak [...] 4. to be delightfully uninhibited; to have an uproarious time at a party.

6. (US black) to perform.

1992		Source July 40: The way we write we leave it open so we could freak it a different way next time.
1995		L. Stavsky et al. A2Z 37/2: They was freakin’ the beats and movin’ the house.
2005		B. Coleman Rakim Told Me 163: ‘[F]ive intense minutes of pure, unadulterated braggadocio, with an incredible Marley-freaked James Brown loop’.