insane

adjective

USin-SAYN/ɪnˈseɪn/

6 meanings of insane

1
adjective
Very sick in the mind, or completely mad.
The doctors said the man was insane and could not stand trial.
Years alone in the tower slowly drove the old king insane.
Similarmad, deranged, demented, unhinged
Oppositesane, rational
Note
2
wild (too much)adjectivecolloquial
Far too much, or so silly that it makes no sense.
She spends an insane amount on shoes every month.
The whole school went insane when our team won the final.
Similarcrazy, ridiculous, absurd, mad, outrageous
Oppositesensible, reasonable
3
amazingadjectiveslang
So good that it is hard to believe.
This pizza is insane, you have to try it!
That last goal was insane!
Similarincredible, amazing, unreal, phenomenal
Oppositeterrible, awful
Note
4
very angryadjectivecolloquial
Very, very angry about something.
My dad will go insane if I break another window.
She went insane when she found out her brother had read her diary.
Similarcrazy, mad, berserk, ballistic
5
for mad peopleadjective
Used for or about people who are very sick in the mind.
People say the empty insane asylum on the hill is haunted.
Long ago, the town kept an insane ward at the back of the jail.
Similarpsychiatric, mental
Note
6
causing madnessadjective
Making someone go mad.
Were such things here, as we doe speake about? / Or haue we eaten on the insane Root, / That takes the Reason Prisoner?
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”Here, insane means causing madness in the person who eats it.
Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Latin īnsānus, "unsound in mind", made from in- and sānus, "sane".