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.
Washington’s manic quarantining of cruise-ship passengers, its restricting of foreign entry, probably did next to nothing to slow spread until a vaccine and the less-virulent omicron variants arrived, which took a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
I know people who stop taking pills because they cherish those manic spells and the hypercreativity that comes with them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Mr. Hernández has a febrile energy that finds him bounding around the stage with a convincingly youthful, manic intensity, as if new love has pushed his adrenaline into overdrive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
He attributed his behaviour to a "manic episode" brought on by bipolar disorder.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Wood, glue, nails, sandpaper: rather than comforting her, the noises and smells of his manic diligence make her more anxious.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
