Meaning & use
maniac
Last updated
A person who behaves in a wild, uncontrolled, or extremely enthusiastic way.
See it in a sentence
He drove like a maniac through the empty parking lot.
She's a total fitness maniac, working out twice a day.
A note on using this word
Historically used as a clinical term for severe mental illness, but in modern everyday speech it's mostly informal hyperbole for recklessness or intense enthusiasm.
Words with a similar meaning
fanaticlunatic
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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