sane
adjective
free from mental derangement; having a sound, healthy mind.
sane
1 American
[sayn]
/ seɪn /
adjective
-
saner,
comparative
-
sanest
superlative
-
free from mental derangement; having a sound, healthy mind.
a sane person.
-
having or showing reason, sound judgment, or good sense.
sane advice.
- Synonyms:
- judicious, sensible, reasonable
-
sound; healthy.
SANE
2
American
[sayn]
/ seɪn /
noun
sane
British
/ seɪn /
adjective
-
sound in mind; free from mental disturbance
-
having or showing reason, good judgment, or sound sense
-
obsolete healthy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sane1
First recorded in 1620–30, sane is from the Latin word sānus healthy
Origin of SANE2
Official shortening of its byname Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy
Explanation
A sane person doesn't have any screws loose — in other words, they're free of mental illness and in a reasonable state of mind. You probably know that the word insane means crazy. Well, the opposite of insane is sane — or not crazy. A sane person is of sound mind and is mentally healthy. Sane people have good judgment, are reasonable, and can tell the difference between what's real and imagined. Whenever someone commits a crime or does something totally outlandish, people usually wonder if they're sane or not.
Vocabulary lists containing sane
Tears of a Tiger
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P.S. Be Eleven
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Unit 1: Vocabulary from Readings 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Next, a jury will determine whether the shooter was sane at the time of the act.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Most sane people believe that needs to be addressed.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
In a sane world he would provide answers that could facilitate greater understanding of his actions and motivations, and how he believes those actions will benefit the American people.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
A public interest firm willing to carry the case without charge, because no sane person spends airplane money in legal fees to recover an airplane.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
I thought I was keeping my fears and doubts at bay as best I could, and managing to stay relatively sane.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
Marjorie Wallace, CEO of mental health charity SANE, tells Newsbeat these figures mean it is "critical for young women and girls to be able to talk about their mental health problems".
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2023
Shelley, a nurse in rural Eagle County, Colorado, went to her car and called a telehealth company to arrange an appointment with a sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2023
However, Wallace, who is also the founder of British mental health charity SANE, doesn’t believe that those diagnoses were accurate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2022
The specialty includes sexual assault nurse examiners, known by the acronym SANE.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 30, 2015
SANE, J. MARTIN-, executor of the Estate of Abel Bonnard.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1963 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
In happier days—in a saner timeline—I could have played a round here.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
Is there a chance that saner heads will prevail?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
Dispatches from a saner time of millennial life like “Up Down” and “Can’t Believe It” landed like an envelope of Instax photos from a half-remembered house party.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
A saner, scientific view hails the eye as the second most complex organ in our bodies.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2025
Maybe old Mary and her herbs weren’t such a bad idea after all—if I could be sure of catching her in one of her saner moments.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
“The sanest way forward — you have to learn how to split yourself up into other selves, like an earthworm,” her mentor advised her years earlier, when she was about to graduate.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 14, 2022
Wakefield What happens when the sanest person working in a psych ward starts to lose his grip?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2021
And they remind us that sometimes the sanest means of processing sorrow and fear is to find ways to joke about them.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2021
“Having a therapist has taught me to be less cruel to myself. It’s not like therapy has made me the world’s sanest person; it’s just made me slightly less insane.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
I think he’s the sanest person I know.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
