maniacally

American  

[muh-nahy-uh-klee] / məˈnaɪ ə kli /

adverb

1. in a way that is reminiscent of a violently insane person.

   A touch on the shoulder would likely be received differently from a smiling person than from a person who is laughing maniacally.

2. in an overzealous or excessively enthusiastic way; fanatically.

   Far from being the maniacally focused, late-night or early-morning types, truly creative innovators and problem solvers have a rich life outside of work.

3. in a way that is related to or typical of manic disorder.

   I can tell I'm maniacally spending if I stop and pay attention to how many purchases I have to return.

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Other Word Forms

• submaniacally adverb
• unmaniacally adverb

Etymology

Origin of maniacally

maniacal ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

For the rest of 2023, they “lived like monks,” resisting outside hires and focused maniacally on building a user-friendly tool.

From The Wall Street Journal

While the quote is accurate, the image of Schumer maniacally grinning as he says it is completely fabricated.

From Salon

The firm describes Oracle as an “AI juggernaut for the information age” that is “maniacally focused on database innovation.”

From Barron's

Game 3 was a one-sided clunker, but Game 1, Game 2 and Game 4 all went to sudden-death OT —hockey’s equivalent of dangling you over a bridge by your shoelaces while laughing maniacally.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Aug. 14, according to police reports, Chapman found Sindle maniacally chopping up a piece of binder paper with scissors.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• madly
• wildly