moonstruck
Americanadjective
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mentally deranged, supposedly by the influence of the moon; crazed.
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dreamily romantic or bemused.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of moonstruck
Explanation
Are you so in love that you act like a lunatic? Does the full moon make you howl? If so, you’re moonstruck! Moonstruck literally means to be affected by the moon, but moonstruck people are dreamy and in love. You can use the adjective moonstruck to mean "insane" or "loony" in general, but it's most often connected to the idea of being lovesick or romantic and irrational. It stems from an ancient belief that the moon could actually cause insanity. The first written use of moonstruck is found in John Milton's 1674 epic poem "Paradise Lost," included in a list of humanity's afflictions caused by original sin: "moon-struck 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.
Any argument against using their baseball unicorn in relief can be countered by those same three words, a phrase which this summer has come to symbolize magic and majesty and moonstruck possibility.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2024
Or Japan’s moonstruck billionaire who will follow them from Kazakhstan in December with his production assistant tagging along to document everything?
From Washington Post • May 25, 2021
More recently, they have become moonstruck by icy, potentially habitable worlds in the outer solar system, such as Saturn’s geyser-spewing satellite Enceladus and Jupiter’s oceanic moon Europa.
From Scientific American • Sep. 14, 2020
When not moonstruck, the darkness itself is the draw, a coverlet silencing the day’s concerns, yet granting permission for thoughts to drift forever out into space – while remembering to yell “Car up!”
From The Guardian • Aug. 5, 2019
“And soon we’ll have a wee little moonstruck Ashton on the premises. Imagine that! Let’s hope he’s not the last of the line.”
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
