insanity Hear it!

insanity Definition

in·san·ity (in san′ə tē)

noun pl. -·ties

  1. the state of being insane; mental illness or derangement, usually excluding amentia: not a technical term
  2. Law any form or degree of mental derangement or unsoundness of mind, permanent or temporary, that makes a person incapable of what is regarded legally as normal, rational conduct or judgment: it usually implies a need for hospitalization
  3. great folly; extreme senselessness

Etymology: L insanitas < insanus

insanity Synonyms

insanity

n.

  1. Mental derangement

    mental illness, mental disorder, derangement, psychopathy, madness, dementia, amentia, lunacy, psychosis, alienation, neurosis, psychoneurosis, phobia, mania, craziness, aberration; see also complex 1, disease.

    Mental illnesses and disorders include: schizophrenia, dementia praecox, catatonia, paranoia, hysteria, catalepsy, manic-depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, melancholia, cyclothymia, delusion, hallucination, delirium, amnesia, split personality, multiple personality, autism, mental retardation, senile dementia, obsession, fixation, compulsion, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mania, phobia; nervous breakdown*.

  2. Disorders usually accompanied by impaired mental functioning include: Down syndrome, Mongolism*, cretinism, microcephaly, hydrocephaly, Alzheimer's disease.

    Antonyms sanity*, reason*, normality. *

  3. Utter folly

    senselessness, foolishness, foolhardiness; see stupidity 2.

insanity, current in popular and legal language but not used technically in medicine, implies mental derangement in one who formerly had mental health; lunacy specifically suggests periodic spells of insanity, but is now most commonly used in its extended sense of extreme folly; dementia is the general term for an acquired mental disorder, now generally one of organic origin, as distinguished from amentia (congenital mental deficiency); psychosis is the psychiatric term for any of various specialized mental disorders, functional or organic, in which the personality is seriously disorganized

insanity Law Definition

n

A mental disorder that deprives a criminal defendant of capacity to be tried.

insanity Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • feign: On graduation in 1984 he went to work as a prison officer, only escaping from a life contract by feigning insanity.
  • plead: This activity later be referred to in his trial in an elaborate attempt to plead insanity.
  • stop: But when he finally dares to try to stop the insanity, he winds up in a desperate fight for survival.
  • cause: No reputable historian would accept the idea that educating a woman sucks all the blood from her uterus, or that masturbation causes insanity.
  • reflect: A confident storyteller, he interweaves stories to show the chaos of a well-heeled society that reflects the insanity of the asylum.
  • see: Steve: We've been working ten years to get people to see the insanity behind supporting a Tory government.

Adjective modifier

  • utter: Twain uses the voice of an exiled angel, temporarily in terrestrial residence, to describe the utter insanity of human kind.
  • temporary: A verdict of suicide during temporary insanity was returned.
  • sheer: The sheer insanity of Edward II's choice of a campsite now became apparent.
  • instant: We describe these examples and others from the allied subject of graph theory, and show you how you can cope with instant insanity.
  • pure: Having more than one wife is bigamy; having more than one husband is pure insanity.
  • collective: To destroy it for money, a simple number with no intrinsic value, is an act of collective insanity.

Modifies a noun

  • plea: And I may observe that we have an insanity plea that would have saved Cain.
  • defense: The debate on the insanity defense does not adequately discuss the components of the mens rea.

Noun used with modifier

round: Sumdy's Dad live, with their unique mix of cracking covers, fantastic originals and all round insanity... .

Preposition: in

family: Insanity in the family: the 2nd Earl Erne ( 1765-1842 ).

Preposition: of

  • war: Tired talk of life back home, girls, the insanity of war; the likes of, What am I doing here?
  • world: Stewart's style is to mug for the cameras, playing the befuddled nice guy confused by the insanity of the modern world.
  • power: Alexander had been broken by the insanity of absolute power.

Browse dictionary entries near insanity

  1. ‹ insanitary
  2. ‹ insanely
  3. ‹ insane
  4. ‹ insalubrious
  5. ‹ insalivate
  6. ‹ ins
  7. ‹ inrush
  8. ‹ inroad
  9. ‹ INRIA
  10. ‹ INRI
  1. insanity defense ›
  2. insatiable ›
  3. insatiate ›
  4. inscape ›
  5. inscribe ›
  6. inscription ›
  7. inscrutable ›
  8. inseam ›
  9. insect ›
  10. insectarium ›