insane

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English

Etymology

From Latin īnsānus (“unsound in mind; mad, insane”), from in- + sānus (“sound, sane”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪnˈseɪn/
    • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪn

Adjective

insane (comparative more insane or insaner, superlative most insane or insanest)

  1. Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:insane
    • 1936, Dale Carnegie, “Part 1, Chapter 2. THE BIG SECRET OF DEALING WITH PEOPLE”, in How to Win Friends and Influence People, page 41:
      What is the cause of insanity? Nobody can answer such a sweeping question as that, but we know that certain diseases, such as syphilis, break down and destroy the brain cells and result in insanity. In fact, about one-half of all mental diseases can be attributed to such physical causes as brain lesions, alcohol, toxins, and injuries. But the other half—and this is the appalling part of the story—the other half of the people who go insane apparently have nothing organically wrong with their brain cells. In post-mortem examinations, when their brain tissues are studied under the highest-powered microscopes, they are found to be apparently just as healthy as yours and mine. Why do these people go insane?
  2. Used by or relating to insane people.
    an insane hospital
    an insane asylum
  3. Causing insanity or madness.
  4. (informal) Characterized by excess or the utmost folly; ridiculous; impractical.
    an insane plan
    an insane amount of money
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      The preposterous altruism too! […] Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.
  5. (slang) Extremely good; incredibly amazing.
    That guy is insane at FPS games.
    • 2018 August 8, Bill Graveland, “'I'll get better': Paralyzed Humboldt Broncos player working to improve at sledge hockey”, in CBC‎:
      Cederstrand was all over the ice, whipping his sled around and firing pucks into the net. It's what Straschnitzki is aiming for. "He's insane. The turns, the shots. It's something I want to do some day."
    • 2020 August 24, Nicol Natale, “Watch Reese Witherspoon Nail a Seriously Impressive Backflip in This Throwback Video”, in Prevention‎:
      And fans echoed their responses. "You nailed it, girl! This movie is so special. Your work is insane! 💗," one person wrote. "Is there ANYTHING you can't do?! I'm impressed," said another.
    • 2020 September 19, Saahil Agnelo Periwal, “Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 4: SypherPK claims a Victory Royale by using the 'rarest' item in the game- The Galactus Gun”, in Sportskeeda‎:
      On getting two quick eliminations, SypherPK cries out ecstatically: This gun is insane, it's the best gun ever! Woohoo!

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Collocations

Collocations
  • completely insane
  • totally insane
  • almost insane
  • quite insane
  • criminally insane
  • legally insane
  • temporarily insane
  • hopelessly insane
  • incurably insane

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin īnsanus.

Pronunciation

Adjective

insane (plural insanes)

  1. (literary) insane, crazy

Further reading

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English insane.

Pronunciation

Adjective

insane (plural insanes)

  1. (informal) crazy, unbelievable

Italian

Adjective

insane f pl

  1. feminine plural of insano

Latin

Adjective

īnsāne

  1. vocative masculine singular of īnsānus

References

  • “insane”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “insane”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • insane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
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