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maniac

American  
[mey-nee-ak] / ˈmeɪ niˌæk /

noun

  1. a raving or violently insane person; lunatic.

  2. any intemperate or overly zealous or enthusiastic person.

    a maniac when it comes to details.

adjective

  1. maniacal.

maniac British  
/ ˈmeɪnɪˌæk /

noun

  1. a wild disorderly person

  2. a person who has a great craving or enthusiasm for something

    a football maniac

  3. obsolete psychiatry a person afflicted with mania

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of maniac

First recorded in 1595–1605, maniac is from the Medieval Latin word maniacus of, pertaining to madness. See mania, -ac

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.

I was expecting Rob Lowe to be some maniac.

From Salon • Aug. 22, 2024

“And I’m not some crazed maniac set out to destroy this nation.”

From Seattle Times • Oct. 6, 2023

But at night, during the annual festivals, he dances like a maniac and whips people with olive branches.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2023

“He was a maniac, he was impossible, but he was the heart and soul of the place.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2023

“You maniac, where do you get off running into the middle of the road like that?”

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

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.