unhinged
Americanadjective
-
having no hinge or hinges, or with the hinges removed.
an unhinged gate.
-
unsettled, disordered, or distraught.
He became unhinged when his friend died.
Etymology
Origin of unhinged
First recorded in 1710–20; unhinged ( def. 1 ) un- 1 + hinged ( def. ); unhinged ( def. 2 ) unhinge + -ed 2
Explanation
If someone's unhinged, they aren't completely sane. Unhinged is another way to say "crazy" or "out to lunch." Babysitting six kids between the ages of three and ten for an entire day might leave you feeling a little unhinged. More serious is when voters begin to worry that one of the presidential candidates is actually unhinged, appearing irrational and unpredictable. Unhinged stems from the less common verb unhinge, which meant "disorder the mind" before it was ever used to mean "take a door off its hinges."
Vocabulary lists containing unhinged
The Hunger Games
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And Then There Were None
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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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.
Trust in institutions and fellow citizens has declined, and many young people have come of age amid political polarization, technological and economic change, unhinged social media, Covid-era isolation and geopolitical uncertainty.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
An unhinged Olivia Wilde as the ultimate bad boss — an art star hoping to recapture some edge — gets you in the door.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
To be taken seriously and stand out in a crowded field, blistering, often unhinged takes are mandatory, and journalistic norms have little relevance.
From Slate • May 6, 2026
Make it when a craving strikes that feels both little unhinged and worth following all the way through.
From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026
Having seen Imm Janan, their landlord's wife, take the bus toward Ramallah thirty minutes before, they went downstairs to their stony, grassless backyard and unhinged the door to the chicken coop for the first time.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
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.
