insanity

American  

[in-san-i-tee] / ɪnˈsæn ɪ ti /

noun

• insanities
  plural

1. (not in technical use as a medical diagnosis) the condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind.

   Synonyms:

   madness, lunacy, aberration, mania, craziness

2. Law. such unsoundness of mind as frees one from legal responsibility, as for committing a crime, or as signals one's lack of legal capacity, as for entering into a contractual agreement.

3. Psychiatry. (formerly) psychosis.

4. 1. extreme foolishness.

      Trying to drive through that traffic would be pure insanity.

   2. a foolish or senseless action, policy, statement, etc..

      We've heard decades of insanities in our political discourse.

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insanity British  

/ ɪnˈsænɪtɪ /

noun

1. relatively permanent disorder of the mind; state or condition of being insane

2. law a defect of reason as a result of mental illness, such that a defendant does not know what he or she is doing or that it is wrong

3. utter folly; stupidity

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• insanities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of insanity

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin insānitāt-, stem of insānitās “unsoundness of mind, insanity”; see origin at in- ³, sanity

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Explanation

Insanity is an ongoing state of extreme mental illness, which may cause abnormal or antisocial behaviors. If you bark at cats and meow at dogs, you might suffer from insanity. The noun insanity originates from the Latin word insanitatem, meaning "unhealthfulness" relating to the mind. It is believed that master artist Vincent van Gogh, who cut off his ear and gave it to a prostitute, experienced periods of insanity. But this term can also refer to things people perceive as unconventional or foolish, like your neighbor who quit his job, sold all his belongings, and bought a boat to sail around the world.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insanity insanities

Juror Doe disagreed with the other jurors, who appeared to want to find Clancy not guilty by way of insanity.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Probable causes of their insanity are listed as fright, love, grief, childbirth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Even so, that wasn’t the peak of insanity this week.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Eleven jurors were in favor of finding Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity, but they were opposed by a single holdout who has spoken publicly about being sure of her guilt.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

But his case for insanity was damaged when his former wife, Annie, was called to the witness stand by the prosecution.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

I wailed, the aggravations, wasted hours and general insanities of technology culminating in that one moment.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2023

We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category,” Rufo wrote.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 19, 2021

So maddeningly complex is the system, so many its perversions, that we will take our time spooling out the insanities and inequities one by one in future columns.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 10, 2018

Which, when you think about it, is a pretty logical response to the daily insanities the whole wide world presents, even if we adults have come to take that for granted.

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2018

Lee said softly, “Couldn’t a world be built around accepted truth? Couldn’t some pains and insanities be rooted out if the causes were known?”

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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Related Words

• absurdity
• alienation
• craziness
• folly
• frenzy
• hysteria
• irresponsibility
• lunacy
• madness
• mental disorder

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