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
"If you want the definition of madness, then this is no finer example of that," said its chair Liam Kelly.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
At nightfall he went to find them and he had reached their quarters when Athena struck him with madness.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
