mad

[ mad ]
See synonyms for mad on Thesaurus.com
adjective,comparative mad·der [mad-er], /ˈmæd ər/, superlative mad·dest [mad-ist]. /ˈmæd ɪst/.
  1. mentally disturbed; deranged; insane; demented.

  2. enraged; greatly provoked or irritated; angry.

  1. (of animals)

    • abnormally furious; ferocious: a mad bull.

    • affected with rabies; rabid: a mad dog.

  2. extremely foolish or unwise; imprudent; irrational: a mad scheme to invade France.

  3. wildly excited or confused; frantic: mad haste.

  4. overcome by desire, eagerness, enthusiasm, etc.; excessively or uncontrollably fond; infatuated: He's mad about the opera.

  5. wildly lively and merry; enjoyably hilarious: to have a mad time at the Mardi Gras.

  6. (of wind, storms, etc.) furious in violence: A mad gale swept across the channel.

  7. Slang. much or many: Mad props for getting this organization off the ground.

adverb
  1. Slang. very; extremely:It's mad hot in this car.

verb (used with object),mad·ded, mad·ding.
  1. Archaic. to make mad.

verb (used without object),mad·ded, mad·ding.
  1. Archaic. to be, become, or act mad.

Idioms about mad

  1. like mad, Informal. with great haste, impulsiveness, energy, or enthusiasm: She ran like mad to catch the bus.

  2. mad as a hatter, completely insane.

  1. have a mad on, Informal. to be angry for a period of time; be in a bad mood: The last time he had a mad on, it lasted for days.

Origin of mad

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English mad (adjective), madden (intransitive verb, derivative of the adjective); Old English gemǣd “made mad,” past participle of gemǣdan (unrecorded) “to make mad,” akin to gemād “mad, foolish”; cognate with Old Saxon gemēd, Old High German gimeit “foolish”

synonym study For mad

4. Mad, crazy, insane are used to characterize wildly impractical or foolish ideas, actions, etc. Mad suggests senselessness and excess: The scheme of buying the bridge was absolutely mad. In informal usage, crazy suggests recklessness and impracticality: a crazy young couple. Insane is used with some opprobrium to express unsoundness and possible harmfulness: The new traffic system is simply insane.

usage note For mad

Mad meaning “enraged, angry” has been used since 1400, and this sense is a very common one. Because some teachers and usage critics insist that the only correct meaning of mad is “mentally disturbed, insane,” mad is often replaced by angry in formal contexts: The president is angry at Congress for overriding his veto.

word story For mad

The history of mad is complicated both in form and in meaning. In form mad goes back to Old English gemǣd “troubled in mind, demented,” the past participle of an unrecorded verb gemǣdan “to madden, make foolish,” a derivative of the adjective gemād (also mād ) “unreasoning, foolish, mad.”
The Old English forms are from the Germanic adjective gamaidaz “changed for the worse, abnormal.” The element maid- in gamaidaz is from Proto-Indo-European moi-, a variant of the root mei-, moi- “to change, exchange, go, move,” extended with a dental suffix ( -d in Germanic, -t elsewhere). The same suffixed variant moit- appears in Latin mūtāre “to change, exchange, give and receive in exchange.” Sicilian Greek (therefore likely to be influenced by Latin) has the noun moîtos “thanks, favor, reward,” which is possibly a borrowing from Old Latin moitus.
The progression of senses of mad starts with its original sense in Old English, “troubled in mind, demented.” The senses “rabid (dog),” “foolish or unwise,” and “overcome by desire or eagerness” are all recorded from around 1300. Mad in the sense “enraged, angry” arose after about 1400. This sense of mad is the usual colloquial term in the United States (the British are more likely to use angry ) and has been condemned by the arbiters of usage since the late-18th century. The sense “wildly lively, merry” is an Americanism, associated with jazz and African Americans, and dates to the early 1940s.
like mad (initially, for mad ) is quite old, from the 14th century. We take it today to mean “with great haste or energy,” but the original meaning was more literal: “in the manner of one who is mad.”

Other words for mad

Opposites for mad

Other words from mad

  • half-mad, adjective
  • half-mad·ly, adverb
  • half-mad·ness, noun
  • qua·si-mad, adjective
  • qua·si-mad·ly, adverb
  • un·mad, adjective
  • un·mad·ded, adjective

Words Nearby mad

Other definitions for MAD (2 of 3)

MAD
[ mad ]

Other definitions for mad. (3 of 3)

mad.

abbreviation
  1. madam.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mad in a sentence

  • Then she won, and went half mad with the joy and excitement, but the joy didn't last long.

  • Mankind, mad with the energy of activity, would be seen to pursue the fleeing phantom of insatiable desire.

  • Irene's been down to the train to meet you three times and she's sure fighting mad by this time.

    The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
  • Your mad career generally ended in a crowd and a free fight of confetti.

  • Some who would face a mad bull coolly enough spring with disgust from a cockroach or a centipede.

    Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for mad (1 of 2)

mad

/ (mæd) /


adjectivemadder or maddest
  1. mentally deranged; insane

  2. senseless; foolish: a mad idea

  1. (often foll by at) informal angry; resentful

  2. (foll by about, on, or over; often postpositive) wildly enthusiastic (about) or fond (of): mad about football; football-mad

  3. extremely excited or confused; frantic: a mad rush

  4. temporarily overpowered by violent reactions, emotions, etc: mad with grief

  5. (of animals)

    • unusually ferocious: a mad buffalo

    • afflicted with rabies

  6. like mad informal with great energy, enthusiasm, or haste; wildly

  7. mad as a hatter crazily eccentric

verbmads, madding or madded
  1. archaic to make or become mad; act or cause to act as if mad

Origin of mad

1
Old English gemǣded, past participle of gemǣdan to render insane; related to gemād insane, and to Old High German gimeit silly, crazy, Old Norse meitha to hurt, damage

Derived forms of mad

  • maddish, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for MAD (2 of 2)

MAD

/ (mæd) /


n acronym forUS
  1. mutual assured destruction: a theory of nuclear deterrence whereby each side in a conflict has the capacity to destroy the other in retaliation for a nuclear attack

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with mad

mad

In addition to the idioms beginning with mad

  • mad about
  • mad as a hatter
  • mad as a hornet
  • made for each other
  • made of money
  • made to measure
  • made to order
  • mad rush

also see:

  • crazy (mad) about
  • drive someone crazy (mad)
  • hopping mad
  • like crazy (mad)
  • stark raving mad

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.