in his right mind
Adjective phrase 1. Sane; mentally sound and rational: Used to describe a person whose thinking is clear, logical, and based on reality, not impaired by mental illness, extreme emotion, or intoxication. 2. Behaving responsibly; showing good judgment: Used to describe a person who is acting in a sensible, reasonable, and prudent manner.
This phrase is primarily used in negative constructions or rhetorical questions to express strong doubt about the sanity or judgment behind an action. It emphasizes that a described action is so irrational that no sane person would do it. * It is commonly used with "no one," "nobody," "anyone," or "he/she" in questions or negative statements. * The pronoun within the phrase ("his," "her," "their," "my," "your") agrees with the subject it refers to.
- Negative Statement:
- Rhetorical Question:
- Conditional Statement:
- With different pronouns:
- "to be in one's right mind": This is the core construction, used to state or question someone's current state of sanity or judgment.
- I don't think the witness was in her right mind when she gave her statement.
- "not in one's right mind": A common negative form.
- He was clearly not in his right mind during the incident.
- Of sound mind: A more formal, often legal, synonym meaning mentally competent.
- The court determined the testator was of sound mind when writing the will.
- Compos mentis: A Latin legal term meaning "of sound mind."
- Sane (adj.): Having a healthy, rational mind.
- Rational (adj.): Based on reason or logic.
- Sane
- Lucid
- Rational
- Reasonable
- Same (informal, as in "not in his right mind")
- Out of one's mind
- Insane
- Irrational
- Unhinged
- Delirious
- Out of one's mind: Crazy, insane, or acting very irrationally (often due to strong emotion).
- You're out of your mind if you think I'm paying that much!
- Lost one's mind: To have become insane.
- I think he's lost his mind after working on that project for so long.
- Not in one's right mind: Functionally identical in meaning and use to the target phrase.
- She was not in her right mind to make such a promise.
- behaving responsibly