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stir-crazy

[ stur-krey-zee ]
/ ˈstɜrˌkreɪ zi /
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stir-crazy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Slang.

Informal. restless or frantic because of confinement, routine, etc.: I was stir-crazy after just two months of keeping house.
mentally ill because of long imprisonment.

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RELATED WORDS

antsy, confined, fidgety, restless

Nearby words

  1. stipule,
  2. stipuliform,
  3. stir,
  4. stir up,
  5. stir up a hornets' nest,
  6. stir-fried,
  7. stir-fry,
  8. stir-frying,
  9. stir.,
  10. stirabout

Origin of stir-crazy

First recorded in 1935–40; stir2 + crazy
Related formsstir-cra·zi·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for stir-crazy

stir-crazy

adjective

slang mentally disturbed as a result of being in prison or otherwise confined
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for stir-crazy

stir-crazy

adj.

1908, from crazy + stir "prison" (1851), probably from Start Newgate (1757), prison in London, later any prison (1823), probably from Romany stardo "imprisoned," related to staripen "a prison." Mid-19c. sturaban, sturbin "state prison" seem to be transitional forms.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper