crazy

Formscrazier, craziest

Pluralcrazies

1. 1
   wild (situation)adjective

   Wild, chaotic, or completely out of control.

   Things got crazy at the warehouse once the orders started pouring in.

   The market has been crazy all month, with prices swinging wildly each day.

   UsageOften get crazy or go crazy: things got crazy at work.

   Similarwild, chaotic, hectic, frantic, manic

   Oppositecalm, quiet, orderly

2. 2
   not saneadjectiveoffensive

   Of unsound mind; mentally ill, deranged, or severely disturbed.

   The villagers were convinced the hermit had gone crazy after years alone.

   He behaved as though he were crazy, arguing with people who weren't there.

   UsageOften in go crazy (to lose one's mind).

   Similarinsane, demented, deranged, mad, bonkers

   Oppositesane, rational, lucid

   Note

   The image underneath is a cracked vessel. The word is craze, "to crush", plus -y, much as cracked up came to mean a mental breakdown. The same picture of fracture runs through the old "ramshackle" sense and the old "sickly" sense. Joseph C. Lincoln's Mr. Pratt's Patients (1913) still speaks of a crazy asylum, a pairing that shows how plainly the word once sat beside institutional language. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

   • Crazy derives from craze, meaning “to crush”, plus -y. en.wiktionary.org
   • Crack up acquired the meaning of suffering a mental breakdown. en.wiktionary.org
   • Crazy formerly meant structurally unsound or ramshackle. en.wiktionary.org
   • Crazy formerly meant sickly or frail. en.wiktionary.org
   • Joseph C. Lincoln wrote Mr. Pratt's Patients, published in 1913. upload.wikimedia.org
   • The novel uses “crazy asylum”, supporting the observation that crazy occurred alongside institutional terminology. home.hiwaay.net
3. 3
   surprisingadjectivecolloquial

   Wildly surprising or completely unexpected.

   It's crazy how quickly the small startup grew into a household name.

   What a crazy coincidence that both brothers proposed on the same day.

   UsageOften it's crazy how or it's crazy that + a clause.

   Similaramazing, incredible, unbelievable, wild, astonishing

   Oppositepredictable, unsurprising

4. 4
   very excitedadjective

   Extremely enthusiastic about something, or deeply in love with someone.

   She's been crazy for the new series ever since the first episode aired.

   Ever since his first lesson, he has been crazy about the drums and practices every day.

   UsageUsually crazy about or crazy for something; crazy about a person usually means in love.

   Similarmad, wild, passionate, enthusiastic

   Oppositeindifferent, apathetic, uninterested

   Note

   Excitement takes several constructions here. Go crazy marks the outburst (he went crazy when he won). Crazy to plus a verb marks eagerness: R. B. Kimball's Was He Successful? (1863) has girls "crazy to be introduced to him."

5. 5
   extremelyadverbslang

   To a very great degree; extremely.

   The line outside the bakery was crazy long before it even opened.

   Tickets sold out crazy fast after the announcement.

   UsageGoes right before an adjective or adverb: crazy good, crazy fast. In formal writing, extremely is safer.

   Similarsuper, insanely, ridiculously, really, extremely

   Note

   Gina Riley and Jane Turner's Kath and Kim scripts give it to comic speech in "crazy stupid." It does the job of very but with breathless, conversational energy. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Gina Riley and Jane Turner wrote Kath and Kim. en.wikipedia.org
   • The Kath and Kim scripts contain the expression "crazy stupid." en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   lunaticnounslangcountable

   A person regarded as insane, eccentric, or foolish; a crackpot.

   Only a crazy would drive across the desert without packing any water.

   The neighborhood crazies gathered to protest something nobody understood.

   UsagePlural crazies. Aimed at someone, it usually sounds mocking; among friends it can be affectionate.

   Similarlunatic, nutcase, psycho, kook, crackpot

   Note

   The adjective turned into a countable noun, with the regular plural crazies. That plural works as a term of address, as in the sitcom Allen Gregory (2011): "It's our night, you crazies!" Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Crazy has a countable noun use with the plural crazies. en.wiktionary.org
   • Allen Gregory is a sitcom released in 2011. en.wikipedia.org
   • Allen Gregory contains the quoted address "It's our night, you crazies!" en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   wild anticsnounslanguncountable

   Wild, eccentric, or irrational behavior considered as a whole; lunacy.

   By midnight the party had descended into pure crazy.

   She brings a little crazy to every meeting, and her team loves her for it.

   UsageUse in phrases such as pure crazy, a lot of crazy, and full of crazy.

   Similarmadness, lunacy, insanity, chaos, mayhem

   Oppositesanity, calm

   Note

   Douglas Schwartz's Checkered Scissors (2013) describes an evening "full of crazy." Because it is spelled like the adjective, position tells them apart. She is a little crazy uses the adjective, while she brings a little crazy uses this noun as the object of a verb. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Douglas Schwartz wrote Checkered Scissors. rachelcarrera.wordpress.com
   • Checkered Scissors describes an evening using the words "full of crazy." en.wiktionary.org

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