Meaning & use
crazy
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableinformal
Very foolish, unwise or unreasonable.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a crazy plan; that idea is crazy.
Patterns
- crazy to do something
- a crazy idea
It would be crazy to drive in this storm.
They came up with a crazy plan to cross the lake on bikes.
That is a crazy price for a sandwich.
adjectivecomparableinformal
Extremely busy, intense or wild.
Grammar: Often describes time or events: a crazy week.
Patterns
- a crazy week
The week before the festival was crazy.
The traffic gets crazy on Friday nights.
We had a crazy few days at work.
adjectiveafter a verbinformal
Extremely enthusiastic or in love; very fond of someone or something.
Grammar: Used after a linking verb with about: he is crazy about football.
Patterns
- crazy about someone/something
She is crazy about horses.
The kids are crazy about the new game.
He's crazy about her and writes her notes every day.
adjectivecomparableoffensiveold-fashioned
Mentally ill, a use that is now considered offensive or insensitive in serious contexts.
Grammar: Avoid describing real people this way; use clinical or respectful wording.
Calling someone crazy for having an illness is hurtful, so avoid it.
Doctors now prefer specific diagnoses to labels like crazy.
In older novels you may find characters described as crazy.
Word forms
| comparative | crazier |
|---|---|
| superlative | craziest |
Common combinations
- go crazy
- The crowd went crazy when the band appeared.
- drive someone crazy
- The noise is driving me crazy.
- crazy about
- My brother is crazy about trains.
- crazy idea
- It sounds like a crazy idea, but it might work.
- like crazy
- We worked like crazy to meet the deadline.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mad
- Mad is the British equivalent in many uses and has the same offensive risk about mental illness.
- wild
- Wild suggests lively or uncontrolled energy and is gentler than crazy.
- absurd
- Absurd is more formal and means clearly foolish or ridiculous.
- insane
- Insane is stronger and used for extremes, with a similar risk when used for mental illness.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: crazy or crazed? crazy or craze?
crazy vs crazed
Crazed means wild and out of control, as in crazed fans, while crazy is a general informal word.
crazy vs craze
A craze is a brief fashion or trend, not an adjective.
Practice
It would be ___ to start a long hike without any water.
Choose one answer.
Crazy means foolish and unwise, which fits a risky act. Careful, modest and gradual do not describe such a decision.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “crazy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.