craziness

[krey-zee-nis]

noun

1. the state or condition of being mentally deranged; madness.

   Thinking you can handle everything in life by yourself is itself a kind of craziness.

   The long, dark Arctic winter produced a kind of craziness in him.

2. Informal.,  the state or quality of being wildly busy, hectic, chaotic, etc..

   Now that the Christmas craziness is over, I'm finally getting back to writing my blog.

3. Informal.,  an unpredictable, nonconforming, or odd quality; eccentricity.

   Dave is perfect for me—he understands me, laughs with me, and loves me in spite of my craziness.

4. Informal.,  a bizarre or random quality, or something having this quality.

   Shooting this movie we got away with a lot of improv and craziness and stuff that didn't have to fit or have much meaning behind it.

5. Informal.,  a rash, silly, or unsound quality, or behavior, ideas, etc., of this kind.

   He argued against the craziness of changing the clocks every fall, making late afternoon even more dangerous for children coming home from school.

6. Informal.,  intense or excessive emotion about someone or something; enthusiasm, infatuation, alarm, frustration, etc. (usually followed by about, for, orover ).

   His craziness about her is based solely on her beauty.

   I expect the switchboards to be lit up with people's craziness over this issue.

Word History and Origins

Origin of craziness¹

First recorded in 1610–20; crazy ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

He had come to Portland two years ago “to get away from all the craziness,” he said, and found it to be safe.

From Los Angeles Times

Fittingly, that appearance pulled her into the Kimmel craziness as arguments over the 1st Amendment erupted across the country.

From Los Angeles Times

Because of that unconventional background, she says her level of hormone-fueled boy craziness mixed with her rugged ability to swing a hammer and basically turned her into “a gay man.”

From Los Angeles Times

"I still get the perfect amount of normality from my friends, despite all the craziness," he added.

From BBC

The drama, emotion and craziness would be nice.

From BBC

Related Words

• absurdity 
• idiocy 
• insanity 
• lunacy 
• madness 
• nonsense 
• nuttiness www.thesaurus.com
• silliness