Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Mentally ill; insane: Having a serious mental illness that affects thinking and behavior.
   • Very angry; furious: Feeling or showing intense anger.
   • Very foolish or ill-advised: Extremely silly, unwise, or impractical.
   • Very enthusiastic or excited about something: Having a very strong liking or interest.
   • Wildly excited or confused: Marked by uncontrolled excitement, confusion, or uproar.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Mentally ill):
  • The character in the story was driven mad by grief.
  • In the past, people with epilepsy were sometimes thought to be mad.
• Adjective (Very angry):
  • My father was mad when I crashed the car.
  • Don't be mad at me; it was an accident.
• Adjective (Very foolish):
  • It was a mad idea to go hiking in a storm.
  • Spending all your savings on a lottery ticket is just mad.
• Adjective (Very enthusiastic):
  • He's mad about classic cars and owns three.
  • She's been mad for tennis since she was a child.
• Adjective (Wildly excited):
  • The crowd went mad when the band came on stage.
  • It was a mad scramble to get the last tickets.

Advanced Usage

• "like mad": with great speed, energy, or intensity.
  • She had to work like mad to finish the project on time.
  • They ran like mad to catch the bus.
• "stark raving mad": completely insane (used for emphasis).
  • You'd have to be stark raving mad to try that stunt.

Variants and Related Words

• Madly (adverb): in a mad manner; very much.
  • He is madly in love with her.
  • She waved madly to get our attention.
• Madness (noun): the state of being mad; insanity; foolish behavior.
  • The madness of war affected him deeply.
  • It would be madness to go out in this blizzard.

Synonyms

• Insane: in a state of mind that prevents normal perception and behavior.
• Angry: feeling or showing strong annoyance or hostility.
• Foolish: lacking good sense or judgment; unwise.
• Crazy (informal): mentally deranged, especially in a wild or excited way; extremely enthusiastic.
• Furious: extremely angry.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

• Mad at/with (someone): angry with someone.
  • Are you still mad at me for forgetting your birthday?
• Mad about/for/on (something): very enthusiastic about something.
  • He's mad about football.

Related Idioms

• Mad as a hatter: completely insane (originating from hat makers who were poisoned by mercury used in felt processing).
  • The old man in the park talks to pigeons; some people think he's mad as a hatter.
• Mad as a March hare: very crazy or excited (referring to the erratic behavior of hares during their breeding season in March).
  • The children were mad as March hares after eating all that candy.
• Drive someone mad: to annoy someone intensely or cause someone to become insane.
  • The constant noise from the construction is driving me mad.

Adjective

1. very foolish
   • harebrained ideas
   • took insane risks behind the wheel
   • a completely mad scheme to build a bridge between two mountains
2. marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
   • a crowd of delirious baseball fans
   • something frantic in their gaiety
   • a mad whirl of pleasure
3. affected with madness or insanity
   • a man who had gone mad
4. roused to anger
   • stayed huffy a good while- Mark Twain
   • she gets mad when you wake her up so early
   • mad at his friend
   • sore over a remark