raving
- talking wildly; delirious; frenzied: a raving maniac.
- Informal. extraordinary or remarkable: a raving beauty.
- furiously or wildly: a remark that made me raving mad.
- Usually ravings.
- irrational, incoherent talk: Putting him in a straitjacket did not stop his ravings.
- wildly extravagant or outrageous talk; bombast.
Origin of raving
rave1
- to talk wildly, as in delirium.
- to talk or write with extravagant enthusiasm: She raved about her trip to Europe.
- (of wind, water, storms, etc.) to make a wild or furious sound; rage.
- to utter as if in madness.
- an act of raving.
- an extravagantly enthusiastic appraisal or review of something.
- Chiefly British Slang. a boisterous party, especially a dance.
- extravagantly flattering or enthusiastic: rave reviews of a new play.
Origin of rave1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for rave on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for raving
Contemporary Examples
Charles “Father” Coughlin, a raving anti-Semite, was one of the most popular radio hosts in the country.
Forget SoulCycle—the newest fitness craze is early morning raving, complete with DJs, costumes, and organic smoothies.
For those who do not trust the government, it is an excuse for ranting and raving instead of legislating compromised reform.
The Senate minority leader was raving mad, and spouting nonsense.
Let's not even bother with the obvious historical inaccuracy of this raving.
Historical Examples
We put him to bed, and in a short time he wakened, raving with a fever on his brain.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
If I had pursued the matter, who knows but I might have been a raving maniac by this time.
Alarms and DiscursionsG. K. Chesterton
Coupeau was a raving madman, the same as one sees at the Charenton mad-house!
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
He was manacled and guarded as though he were a raving madman.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
Mary began to feel that she, too, was in danger of raving distraction.
Mary-'GustaJoseph C. Lincoln
raving
- delirious; frenzied
- (as adverb)raving mad
- informal (intensifier)a raving beauty
- (usually plural) frenzied, irrational, or wildly extravagant talk or utterances
rave1
- to utter (something) in a wild or incoherent manner, as when mad or delirious
- (intr) to speak in an angry uncontrolled manner
- (intr) (of the sea, wind, etc) to rage or roar
- (intr ; foll by over or about) informal to write or speak (about) with great enthusiasm
- (intr) British slang to enjoy oneself wildly or uninhibitedly
- informal
- enthusiastic or extravagant praise
- (as modifier)a rave review
- British slang
- Also called: rave-upa party
- a professionally organized party for young people, with electronic dance music, sometimes held in a field or disused building
- British slang a fad or fashionthe latest rave
- a name given to various types of dance music, such as techno, that feature fast electronic rhythm
Word Origin
rave2
- a vertical sidepiece on a wagon
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for raving
adj.
late 15c., "delirious, frenzied," present participle adjective from rave (v.); sense of "remarkable, fit to excite admiration" is from 1841, hence slang superlative use.
rave
v.
early 14c., "to show signs of madness or delirium," from Old French raver, variant of resver "to dream; wander here and there, prowl; behave madly, be crazy," of unknown origin (cf. reverie). The identical (in form) verb meaning "to wander, stray, rove" first appeared c.1300 in Scottish and northern dialect, and is probably from an unrelated Scandinavian word (cf. Icelandic rafa). Sense of "talk enthusiastically about" first recorded 1704. Related: Raved; raving.
rave
n.
"act of raving," 1590s, from rave (v.). Meaning "temporary popular enthusiasm" is from 1902; that of "highly flattering review" is from 1926. Sense of "rowdy party" is from 1960; rave-up was British slang for "wild party" from 1940; specific modern sense of "mass party with loud, fast electronic music and often psychedelic drugs" is from 1989.
Idioms and Phrases with raving
rave
see rant and rave; stark raving mad.