sane
adjective
free from mental derangement; having a sound, healthy mind.
sane
1 American
[seyn]
/ seɪn /
adjective
-
saner,
comparative
-
sanest
superlative
-
free from mental derangement; having a sound, healthy mind.
a sane person.
-
having or showing reason, sound judgment, or good sense.
sane advice.
- Synonyms:
- judicious, sensible, reasonable
-
sound; healthy.
SANE
2
American
[seyn]
/ seɪn /
noun
sane
British
/ seɪn /
adjective
-
sound in mind; free from mental disturbance
-
having or showing reason, good judgment, or sound sense
-
obsolete healthy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sane1
First recorded in 1620–30, sane is from the Latin word sānus healthy
Origin of SANE2
Official shortening of its byname Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy
Explanation
A sane person doesn't have any screws loose — in other words, they're free of mental illness and in a reasonable state of mind. You probably know that the word insane means crazy. Well, the opposite of insane is sane — or not crazy. A sane person is of sound mind and is mentally healthy. Sane people have good judgment, are reasonable, and can tell the difference between what's real and imagined. Whenever someone commits a crime or does something totally outlandish, people usually wonder if they're sane or not.
Vocabulary lists containing sane
Tears of a Tiger
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P.S. Be Eleven
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Unit 1: Vocabulary from Readings 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It signaled to voters he was mainstream, sane, strong and unafraid of a fight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
A public interest firm willing to carry the case without charge, because no sane person spends airplane money in legal fees to recover an airplane.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
"No sane person would bring their greatest strength to the negotiating table," it said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 13, 2026
Learning to prioritize the tasks has kept him more sane during his second season in one of the most high-profile coaching jobs in sports, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
In those moments I searched feverishly for a reason to think myself sane.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Only seven wins had come in the "SANE" countries: South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2024
Shelley, a nurse in rural Eagle County, Colorado, went to her car and called a telehealth company to arrange an appointment with a sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2023
However, Wallace, who is also the founder of British mental health charity SANE, doesn’t believe that those diagnoses were accurate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2022
The specialty includes sexual assault nurse examiners, known by the acronym SANE.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 30, 2015
We, the undersigned, Jurors in the case of Mrs. Elizabeth P. W. Packard, alleged to be insane, having heard the evidence in the case, are satisfied that said Elizabeth P. W. Packard is SANE.
From Marital Power Exemplified in Mrs. Packard's Trial, and Self-Defence from the Charge of Insanity by Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard
The tournament long known as March Madness has a problem: It has never been saner than it is right now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
A saner, scientific view hails the eye as the second most complex organ in our bodies.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2025
Indira, with the saner follow-up: “Dorothy, don’t get in the fight.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2024
Shortly after Eugene’s release, the family moved to a two-story house just a few minutes from where Eugene grew up but along streets safer and saner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2023
Kids traveled from all over the city, north, east, and west, leaving behind their neighborhood skirmishes for a school they hoped might be a little safer, a little saner than the one closer to home.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
“The sanest way forward — you have to learn how to split yourself up into other selves, like an earthworm,” her mentor advised her years earlier, when she was about to graduate.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 14, 2022
“Having a therapist has taught me to be less cruel to myself. It’s not like therapy has made me the world’s sanest person; it’s just made me slightly less insane.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
We can look at all of this and hope that our sanest elected officials will use their power to make life better for the whole realm.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2021
In this, Satie was the sanest of eccentrics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2020
Some days I think I’m crazy to have done this; other times that it’s the sanest move I’ve made in years.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
