bonkers
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
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."
Etymology
Origin of bonkers
1945–50; of uncertain origin; for final element, -ers
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.
This is when clinicians started to describe instances in which people who are metabolically healthy and obese as the “obesity paradox,” a concept that Russell, the physician in Rochester, describes as “bonkers.”
From MarketWatch
This is when clinicians started to describe instances in which people who are metabolically healthy and obese as the “obesity paradox,” a concept that Russell, the physician in Rochester, describes as “bonkers.”
From MarketWatch
Johnson said: "The first time we practised it a few times and ran around our local park and with people thinking we were bonkers."
From BBC
It wasn’t even an official WBC game—and the scenes were bonkers.
Initial reaction around the league was that the decision was bonkers.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
