insane

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈseɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Adjective

insane (comparative more insane, superlative most insane)

1. Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; mad; deranged in mind; delirious; distracted.
   • 1936, Dale Carnegie, “Part 1, Chapter 2. THE BIG SECRET OF DEALING WITH PEOPLE”, in How to Win Friends and Influence People^[1], page 41:

     What 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 in-
     sane apparently have nothing organically wrong with
     their brain cells. In post-mortem examinations, when their
     brain tissues are studied under the highest-powered micro-
     scopes, 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; as, an insane hospital.
3. Causing insanity or madness.
4. Characterized by insanity or the utmost folly; chimerical; unpractical; as, an insane plan, attempt, etc.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:insane

Antonyms

• sane

Translations

exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind

• Arabic: مجنون (ar) (majnuun)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精神失常 (cmn) (jīngshén shīcháng), 精神錯亂 (cmn), 精神错乱 (cmn) (jīngshén cuòluàn), 瘋狂 (cmn), 疯狂 (cmn) (fēngkuáng), 發狂 (cmn), 发狂 (cmn) (fākuáng)

• Danish: sindssyg (da)
• Finnish: mielenvikainen (fi), hullu (fi)
• French: dérangé (fr), délirant (fr), fou (fr), dément (fr)
• German: wahnsinnig (de), verrückt (de), geisteskrank (de)
• Greek: παράφρων (el) (paráfron) m, τρελός (el) (trelós) m
• Hindi: पागल (hi) (pāgal)
• Hungarian: őrült (hu), elmebeteg (hu), bolond (hu)
• Indonesian: sinting (id), edan (id)
• Italian: insano (it), pazzo (it), folle (it)

• Japanese: 気が狂った (ja) (きがくるった, ki-ga kurutta), 狂しい (ja) (くるおしい, kuruoshii), 頭がおかしい (ja) (あたまがおかしい, atama-ga okashii)
• Latin: dēmēns (la), īnsānus (la)
• Latvian: ārprātīgs (lv), traks (lv), vājprātīgs (lv)
• Pashto: لېونی (ps) (lewanay)
• Persian: مجنون (fa) (majnun), دیوانه (fa) (divâne)
• Polish: szalony (pl) m, obłąkany (pl) m
• Romanian: nebun (ro) m, nebună f, alienat mintal (ro) m, dezechilibrat psihic (ro) m
• Russian: душевнобольной (ru) (duševnobol'nój) m, невменяемый (ru) (nevmenjájemyj) m, сумасшедший (ru) (sumasšédšij) m
• Spanish: enfermo mental (es)
• Tagalog: baliw (tl)
• Urdu: پاگل (ur) (pāgal)
• Vietnamese: điên (vi), cuồng (vi)

used by, or appropriated to, insane persons

• Polish: szaleńczy (pl) m

causing insanity or madness

• French: dérangeant (fr) m, démentiel (fr) m, malsain (fr) m

• Romanian: demențial (ro) m and n, înnebunitor (ro) m and n

characterized by insanity or the utmost folly

• Danish: sindssyg (da)
• Finnish: hullu (fi)
• French: fou (fr) m, chimérique (fr) m, aberrant (fr) m, délirant (fr) m
• Greek: παράφρων (el) (paráfron) m, τρελός (el) (trelós) m

• Hungarian: őrült (hu), bolond (hu)
• Italian: folle (it), pazzo (it)
• Polish: szaleńczy (pl) m
• Romanian: himeric (ro) m and n, nebunesc (ro) m and n, delirant (ro) m and n

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: dementa
• Interlingua: demente

Related terms

• insanity

External links

• insane in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• insane in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• insane at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• sienna, Sienna

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French

Etymology

From English insane

Adjective

insane (masculine and feminine, plural insanes)

1. insane, crazy
2. foolish

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Italian

Adjective

insane f pl

1. feminine plural of insano

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Latin

Adjective

īnsāne

1. vocative masculine singular of īnsānus