Insane

Pronunciation

• IPA: en, /ɪnˈseɪn/
• Rhymes: -en, -eɪn

Origin

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

Full definition of insane

Adjective

1. Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; mad
• 1936, Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People Chapter Part 1, Chapter 2. THE BIG SECRET OF DEALING WITH PEOPLEWhat 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 appropriated to, insane persons
   an insane hospital
   an insane asylum
3. Causing insanity or madness.
4. Characterized by insanity or the utmost folly; ridiculous; impractical
   an insane plan
   an insane amount of money
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 16, 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.

Synonyms

Antonyms

• sane

Related terms

• insanity

Further reading

• Webster 1913
• Century 1911
• OneLook

Anagrams