madness
Americannoun
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the state of being mad; insanity.
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senseless folly.
It is sheer madness to speak as you do.
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frenzy; rage.
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intense excitement or enthusiasm.
noun
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insanity; lunacy
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extreme anger, excitement, or foolishness
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a nontechnical word for rabies
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of madness
First recorded in 1350–1400, madness is from the Middle English word madnesse. See mad, -ness
Explanation
Madness is foolish, impulsive behavior. It would be madness to ride on the back of your friend's car, standing on the bumper. A screaming crowd waiting to see their favorite rock star creates an atmosphere of madness — and their enthusiasm itself can be described as madness. You could also say that donating all your money to an animal shelter would be madness, or describe the madness of a busy Thanksgiving Day sale. Madness sometimes takes on its original meaning, "mental instability" or "insanity."
Vocabulary lists containing madness
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.
Between bucket pull madness, a ton of Golden Ticket winners dazzled throughout, treating L.A. to a little slice of what we see in Austin on Mondays.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
There might be some method in that madness.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
Witnessing a friend of a friend’s cousin credit a famous woman for her maternal nature, side by side with the person who literally gave birth to them, is a unique reality of our modern madness.
From Salon • May 10, 2026
"Maybe financially if you want security, but you don't want to tie yourself in for that long. It's absolute madness."
From BBC • May 6, 2026
It was madness, of course, but there was beauty in it.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
