# insane

Pronunciation: US say "in-SAYN" /ɪnˈseɪn/; UK

## Adjective

1. Showing an unsound or disordered mind; not sane, or completely mad.
   - Simple: Very sick in the mind, or completely mad.
   - _The court found him legally insane and sent him to a psychiatric hospital instead of prison._
   - _In the novel, the lighthouse keeper goes insane after a winter with no one to talk to._
2. Marked by wild excess or utter folly; ridiculous or impractical. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Far too much, or so silly that it makes no sense.
   - _Rents in the city have climbed to insane levels over the past five years._
   - _Driving twelve hours through a snowstorm for one concert was insane, and we knew it._
3. Extremely good, or so impressive as to seem almost unbelievable. *(slang)*
   - Simple: So good that it is hard to believe.
   - _Did you see her backflip? Her balance is insane._
   - _He's insane at chess and beat the whole club in one afternoon._
4. Extremely angry; furious. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Very, very angry about something.
   - _Mom is going to go insane when she sees what the dog did to the couch._
   - _After the referee's last-second call, the coach went insane, and two players had to hold him back._
5. Used by, or relating to, people who are insane.
   - Simple: Used for or about people who are very sick in the mind.
   - _The old insane asylum on the hill closed decades ago and now stands empty._
   - _Her great-grandfather worked as an attendant in the insane ward of the county hospital._
6. Bringing on insanity or madness in someone.
   - Simple: Making someone go mad.

## Origin

From Latin īnsānus ("unsound in mind; mad, insane"), from in- + sānus ("sound, sane"), equivalent to in- + sane.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/insane (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).