in·san·i·ty
(ĭn-săn′ĭ-tē)n. pl. in·san·i·ties
1. Severe mental illness or derangement. Not used in psychiatric diagnosis.
2. Law
a. Unsoundness of mind sufficient to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or sufficient to warrant commitment to a mental health facility.
b. Incapacity to form the criminal intent necessary for legal responsibility, as when a mental disorder prevents a person from knowing the difference between right and wrong.
c. Incapacity because of a mental disorder to participate adequately as a defendant in criminal proceedings or to understand the imposition of a criminal punishment, particularly the death penalty.
3.
a. Extreme foolishness or irrationality: "The insanity of sending troops into Russia when European peace looked imminent horrified him" (Mary V. Dearborn).
b. Something that is extremely foolish, distinctly irrational, or wildly excited: "twisted forms of musical insanity" (Christopher J. Kelter).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
insanity
(ɪnˈsænɪtɪ)n, pl -ties
1. (Psychology) relatively permanent disorder of the mind; state or condition of being insane
2. (Law) law a defect of reason as a result of mental illness, such that a defendant does not know what he or she is doing or that it is wrong
3. utter folly; stupidity
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
in•san•i•ty
(ɪnˈsæn ɪ ti)n., pl. -ties.
1. (not in technical use) the condition of being insane; mental illness or disorder.
2. Law. such unsoundness of mind as affects legal responsibility or capacity.
3. extreme folly; senselessness; foolhardiness.
[1580–90; < Latin]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also related terms for healthy.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
Insanity
Obsolete, insanity.
a violent form of mania; incurable insanity.
1. a congenital condition of low intelligence.
2. a form of temporary insanity. Cf. dementia.
2. a form of temporary insanity. Cf. dementia.
Obsolete, amentia.
behavior characteristic of insanity. See also order and disorder.
a mental patient.
one of various forms of schizophrenia characterized by stupor, sometimes alternating with excited behavior and mechanical, repetitive behavior, accompanied by muscular rigidity. — catatonic, n., adj.
a state of maniacal excitement characterized by restless behavior, confused speech, and sometimes hallucinations.
madness or insanity. Cf. amentia.
schizophrenia.
1. Obsolete, the doctrine of demoniac possession.
2. Archaic. demonomania. — demonian, n., adj.
2. Archaic. demonomania. — demonian, n., adj.
Medicine. a monomania in which a person believes he is possessed of devils. Also called demonopathy.
Medicine, Obsolete, a state in which a person believes he is possessed by a devil or has been endowed with supernatural powers.
a disordered mental condition in which the sufferer is prone to hallucinations.
a form of insanity or dementia praecox that can appear at puberty, characterized by foolish behavior and deterioration of the mental faculties.
an acute mania.
1. periodic insanity, once thought to be caused by the phases of the moon.
2. any form of insanity. — lunatic, adj.
2. any form of insanity. — lunatic, adj.
an abnormal tendency toward deep melancholy.
an abnormal fear of becoming insane.
an abnormal fear of madness.
1. Medicine. a form of mental illness characterized by the unreasonable conviction in the patient of his own greatness, goodness, power, or wealth.
2. an obsession with extravagant or grand actions. — megalomaniac, n., adj. — megalomaniacal, adj.
2. an obsession with extravagant or grand actions. — megalomaniac, n., adj. — megalomaniacal, adj.
a condition of abnormal gloom or depression, often of an intensity to become a form of insanity. — melancholiac, n., adj. — melancholie, n., adj.
Obsolete, a person suffering from melancholia; a melancholiac.
a form of treatment for mental illness that involves placing the patient under the influence of a narcotic.
the process of correcting bodily or mental distortion.
a mental disorder characterized by behavior that stems from an elaborately constructed system of delusions of persecution and grandeur. — paranoiac, n. — paranoid, adj.
a state resembling paranoia.
moral insanity.
any severe mental disorder or disease. — psychotic, n., adj.
a psychotic condition marked by erratic behavior, withdrawal from reality, and intellectual and emotional deterioration. Also called dementia praecox. — schizophrenic, n., adj.
a mild form of schizophrenia, characterized by withdrawal, inversion, etc. — schizothyme, n. — schizothymic, adj.
a mild mania.
a form of insanity or mental disorder in which the sufferer imagines that he is an animal. — zoanthropic, adj.
a form of hallucination in which the sufferer imagines he sees animals. Also called zooscopy.
zoopsia.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  insanity - relatively permanent disorder of the mindmental disease, mental illness, psychopathy - any disease of the mind; the psychological state of someone who has emotional or behavioral problems serious enough to require psychiatric intervention dementedness, dementia - mental deterioration of organic or functional origin irrationality, unreason - the state of being irrational; lacking powers of understanding |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
insanity
noun
1. madness, mental illness, dementia, aberration, mental disorder, delirium, craziness, mental derangement a powerful study of a woman's descent into insanity
madness sanity, reason, sense, rationality, normality, lucidity
madness sanity, reason, sense, rationality, normality, lucidity
2. stupidity, folly, lunacy, irresponsibility, senselessness, preposterousness the final financial insanity of the decade
stupidity sense, wisdom, logic, soundness
stupidity sense, wisdom, logic, soundness
Related words
fear lyssophobia, maniaphobia
fear lyssophobia, maniaphobia
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
insanity
noun1. Serious mental illness or disorder impairing a person's capacity to function normally and safely:
brainsickness, craziness, dementia, derangement, disturbance, insaneness, lunacy, madness, mental illness, psychopathy, unbalance.
Psychiatry: mania.
Psychology: aberration, alienation.
2. Foolish behavior:
absurdity, folly, foolery, foolishness, idiocy, imbecility, lunacy, madness, nonsense, preposterousness, senselessness, silliness, tomfoolery, zaniness.
Informal: craziness.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
جُنون
душевна
šílenství
åndssvaghedsindssyge
hulluus
gila
geîveiki
delilik
insanity
[ɪnˈsænɪtɪ] N2. (= foolishness) → locura f, insensatez f
what he did was sheer insanity → lo que hizo fue una verdadera locura or insensatez
what he did was sheer insanity → lo que hizo fue una verdadera locura or insensatez
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
insanity
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
insane
(inˈsein) adjective1. mad; mentally ill.
2. extremely foolish. It was insane to think he would give you the money.
inˈsanity (-ˈsӕ-) nounKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
in·san·i·ty
n. locura, demencia.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
insanity
n locuraEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.