insane
Americanadjective
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(not in technical use as a medical diagnosis) not sane; not of sound mind; mentally deranged.
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a person who is mentally deranged.
a wild and insane look on her face.
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Law. considered to be or to have been affected with insanity, and therefore lacking legal responsibility or legal capacity.
The judge deemed him criminally insane on the basis of his delusions and hallucinations.
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temporarily unable to think clearly.
I think I'm going insane from all the noise outside.
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utterly senseless.
an insane plan.
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Slang. excessive or extravagant; extreme.
This much snow in April is just insane!
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Slang. astonishingly great; wonderful.
Without his insane performance, the film would've been a total flop.
adjective
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mentally deranged; crazy; of unsound mind
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( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the insane
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characteristic of a person of unsound mind
an insane stare
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irresponsible; very foolish; stupid
Related Words
See mad.
Other Word Forms
- insanely adverb
- insaneness noun
- pseudoinsane adjective
Etymology
Origin of insane
First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin insānus “unsound (of mind), demented, frenzied”; in- 3, sane
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.
But they were also about to prove that they were already better than most humans at making sense of a tournament known for being completely insane, as Ben Cohen and Andrew Beaton write.
"It was my dream to work with Vogue and have my 'Devil Wears Prada' moment so to be able to now say that I am a Vogue-published photographer, truly is insane."
From BBC
"My children are restless. Not being able to hear their voices is driving me insane. This is truly the height of cruelty and oppression for a mother."
From BBC
Her band thought she was insane — surely this would never work — until the word came down via the local promoter that “Melissa’s band” was indeed going to open for the Pumpkins at that show.
From Salon
But they were also about to prove that they were already better than most humans at making sense of a tournament known for being completely insane.
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.
