madness

Meanings

1. 1noununcountableinformal

   Extreme foolishness or reckless behavior that seems to make no sense.

   Grammar: Often used for a decision or plan: it would be madness to quit now.

   Patterns

   • it is madness to do something
   • sheer madness

   Driving across the mountains in a blizzard would be madness.

   Quitting a good job without another one lined up is madness.

   It was sheer madness to swim in the strong current.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   Wild confusion, noise, or excitement, as when many people are rushing about.

   Grammar: Describes chaotic scenes: the madness of the holiday sales.

   Patterns

   • the madness of something
   • in the middle of the madness

   We escaped the madness of the crowded mall and went home.

   The kitchen was pure madness at dinner rush.

   The madness of the final week left everyone exhausted.

3. 3noununcountableold-fashionedoffensive

   The condition of having a serious mental illness, a meaning now considered outdated and unkind when used of real people.

   Grammar: Appears mainly in history and literature; modern writing uses specific terms such as mental illness.

   Patterns

   • descend into madness
   • driven to madness

   The novel follows a king's slow descent into madness.

   Old stories often blamed madness on the moon.

   The play shows a character driven to madness by grief.

Common combinations

sheer madness

Taking on three jobs at once is sheer madness.

descend into madness

The story shows a writer who slowly descends into madness.

method in the madness

His desk looks messy, but there is a method in the madness.

in the middle of the madness

In the middle of the madness, she calmly took notes.

pure madness

The airport at midnight was pure madness.

drive someone to madness

The noise from the building site nearly drove him to madness.

Synonyms and how they differ

folly

Folly is a more formal word for a foolish act or idea, and does not suggest wild chaos the way madness can.

lunacy

Lunacy is nearly the same for foolish behavior, but it sounds a little more old-fashioned and dramatic.

chaos

Chaos means complete disorder and has no sense of foolish decisions, so it fits scenes better than choices.

insanity

Insanity can be used loosely like madness for absurd plans, but it also has formal legal meaning that madness lacks.

Opposites

Word family

mad adjective

very foolish, or angry in informal American use

madly adverb

in a wild or extreme way

madman noun

a man who behaves wildly or recklessly

madden verb

to make someone very angry or frustrated

Commonly confused: madness or mania?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “madness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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