Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Mentally irregular; crazy or eccentric: Used informally or in slang to describe someone who behaves in a strange, foolish, or irrational way.

Usage

• This word is informal and often used in a humorous or light-hearted, though sometimes critical, manner to describe eccentric behavior or ideas. It is not a clinical term.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • My neighbor is a bit batty; she talks to her plants all day.
  • He came up with a batty plan to build a house out of recycled bottles.
  • The constant noise from the construction is driving me batty.

Advanced Usage

• "to drive someone batty": To irritate or annoy someone to the point of exasperation or frustration.
  • The repetitive song on the radio is driving me batty.
• "as batty as a fruitcake": An idiom emphasizing extreme eccentricity or foolishness.
  • The old inventor in the story was as batty as a fruitcake, but his ideas sometimes worked.

Variants and Related Words

• Bats (adj, informal): Crazy or insane.
  • He's gone completely bats.
• Bat (n): The animal; this adjective is derived from the phrase "bats in the belfry," an old slang term for crazy.
• Belfry (n): A bell tower; part of the idiom "bats in the belfry."

Synonyms

• Crazy: Behaving in a wild or strange way.
• Bonkers: Informal term for mad or crazy.
• Loony: Informal term for insane or foolish.
• Nutty: Informal term for crazy or eccentric.
• Balmy: Mildly crazy or foolish (as in the reference context).

Antonyms

• Sane: Of sound mind; not mentally ill.
• Rational: Based on or in accordance with reason or logic.
• Sensible: Having or showing good sense or judgment.

Related Idioms

• Bats in the belfry: To be crazy or eccentric.
  • Ever since he retired, people say he's got bats in the belfry.

Adjective

1. informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
   • it used to drive my husband balmy