bonkers

[ bong-kerz ]

adjective

, Slang.

1. mentally unbalanced; mad; crazy.

bonkers

/ ˈbɒŋkəz /

adjective

1. slang.
   mad; crazy

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonkers¹

1945–50; of uncertain origin; for final element, -ers

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonkers¹

C20 (originally in the sense: slightly drunk, tipsy): of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Third, the phenomenon in which boring, lifeless stocks suddenly go bonkers.

From Vox

Forty-one percent of Republicans say the bonkers ideas are a net positive for the country, or twice the national average.

From Time

In today’s essay, I explain why the fallout from this bonkers bet won’t fade any time soon.

From Fortune

You know the stock market has gone bonkers when even CEOs are baffled by their companies’ soaring share prices.

From Quartz

That’s why the thing in Pennsylvania is bonkers, completely bonkers.

From ProPublica

Like Miller, Wolf suffers from the radical self-delusion that mistakes bonkers political views for uncommonly brave opinion.

From The Daily Beast

The brilliance of Community: knowing that good comedy finds it root in places as bleak as they are bonkers.

From The Daily Beast

Like, I think Rhythm Nation is one of my favorite records and that song in particular is just so bonkers.

From The Daily Beast

Stella McCartney put the bonkers back into London Fashion Week.

From The Daily Beast

Was McCartney trying to singlehandedly put the bonkers back into London Fashion Week?

From The Daily Beast

It was driving him bonkers not to be able to ride any longer.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Bonkers

Where does the word bonkers come from?

Bonkers is a funny-sounding word. It’s a goofy, lighter, informal way to say “crazy” or “nuts”—but keep in mind that’s it not so fun to make fun of people’s mental health.

Its origins are unclear, but bonkers is first recorded as British naval slang for “a bit drunk” in the 1940s—perhaps acting like someone has bonked, or hit, them on the head.

The roots of these other words may get a rise—of laughter or surprise—out of you. Run on over to our roundup of them at “Weird Word Origins That Will Make Your Family Laugh.”

Did you know … ?

Bonkers is sometimes used in the construction (to go) bonkers. If a person suddenly starts acting strange, wild, or bizarre, they can be said to be going bonkers or that they went bonkers.

Perhaps due to how silly the word sounds, bonkers is used in the names of a variety of businesses that specialize in children’s entertainment. The word bonk—which bonkers may have come from, as we say above—is also sometimes used in children’s programs that involve cartoon characters getting bonked on their head with various objects, such as mallets.

Bonkers is also the name of a short-lived, early 1990s Disney cartoon series starring perhaps one of Disney’s lesser remembered characters: Bonkers D. Bobcat. The character’s name directly referenced the zany, wacky behavior of the character. That’s bonkers!