manic
Americanadjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of manic
First recorded in 1900–05, manic is from the Greek word manikós inclined to madness. See mania, -ic
Explanation
Manic means frenzied. If you drink 18 cups of coffee in a single sitting and haven't slept for three days, chances are you're manic. If manic sounds like maniac to you, you're on the right track. Someone who is in a manic state is affected by mania. If you're manic you're in a wound-up, fast-acting, unhinged wild state. People with bi-polar disorder experience manic highs and terrible lows. Other things can be manic, too, like the pace of city life or the flabmoyant outfit you're wearing with seven different colors and eight different patterns.
Vocabulary lists containing manic
Wonder
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One of Us Is Lying
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Psychological Conditions and Disorders
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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.
One afternoon Taka was acting manic at work when his boss sent him home early.
From BBC • May 2, 2026
He attributed his controversial behaviour to a "manic episode" brought on by bipolar disorder.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
He said bipolar disorder meant when "you're manic, you don't think you're sick" and that he had "lost touch with reality".
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
Writing in a desperate junk-food-fueled all-nighter, Sally appears to have entered a manic phase.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026
“What audacious criminal,” asked the magazine L’Illustration, “what mystifier, what manic collector, what insane lover, has committed this abduction?”
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
