craziness

American  

[krey-zee-nis] / ˈkreɪ zi nɪs /

noun

1. the state or condition of being mentally deranged; madness.

   Thinking you can handle everything in life by yourself is itself a kind of craziness.

   The long, dark Arctic winter produced a kind of craziness in him.

2. Informal. the state or quality of being wildly busy, hectic, chaotic, etc..

   Now that the Christmas craziness is over, I'm finally getting back to writing my blog.

3. Informal. an unpredictable, nonconforming, or odd quality; eccentricity.

   Dave is perfect for me—he understands me, laughs with me, and loves me in spite of my craziness.

4. Informal. a bizarre or random quality, or something having this quality.

   Shooting this movie we got away with a lot of improv and craziness and stuff that didn't have to fit or have much meaning behind it.

5. Informal. a rash, silly, or unsound quality, or behavior, ideas, etc., of this kind.

   He argued against the craziness of changing the clocks every fall, making late afternoon even more dangerous for children coming home from school.

6. Informal. intense or excessive emotion about someone or something; enthusiasm, infatuation, alarm, frustration, etc. (usually followed by about, for, orover ).

   His craziness about her is based solely on her beauty.

   I expect the switchboards to be lit up with people's craziness over this issue.

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Etymology

Origin of craziness

First recorded in 1610–20; crazy ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

But changing age-old traditions is not just for the younger generation - Tim Hartley, 65, from Cardiff, left the craziness of the kitchen behind four years ago for his local curry house.

From BBC

The combination of Mr. Black’s barely controlled craziness and Mr. Rudd’s cheerful gosh-darn naïveté makes the picture work, though the gags are uneven.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the midst of the music festival’s craziness, the tent was filled with a weighted, reverent energy.

From Los Angeles Times

But they will know Guiteau’s type, if not quite his level of craziness.

From The Wall Street Journal

What happened next was the most improbable series of events inside a season that has come to be defined by last-minute craziness across the league.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• absurdity
• idiocy
• insanity
• lunacy
• madness
• nonsense
• nuttiness
• silliness