unhinged

adjective

un·​hinged ˌən-ˈhinjd 

: highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught

attacked by an unhinged extremist

Somewhere along the way, her pursuit of a hot guy turned into unhinged obsession.

—Cosmopolitan

"Is this a new brand of humour? Or is your brain really unhinged?" inquired Tommy.

—Agatha Christie

see also unhinge

Synonyms

• balmy
• barmy [chiefly British]
• bats
• batty
• bedlam
• bonkers
• brainsick
• bughouse [slang]
• certifiable
• crackbrained
• cracked
• crackers
• crackpot
• cranky [dialect]
• crazed
• crazy
• cuckoo
• daffy
• daft
• demented
• deranged
• fruity [slang]
• gaga
• haywire
• insane
• kooky
• kookie
• loco [slang]
• loony
• looney
• loony tunes
• looney tunes
• lunatic
• mad
• maniacal
• maniac
• mental
• meshuga
• meshugge
• meshugah
• meshuggah
• moonstruck
• non compos mentis
• nuts
• nutty
• psycho
• psychotic
• scatty [chiefly British]
• screwy
• unbalanced
• unsound
• wacko
• whacko
• wacky
• whacky
• wud [chiefly Scottish]

Examples of unhinged in a Sentence

destined to become one of the nation's most notorious serial killers, he apparently became unhinged as a result of being abandoned as a young teen

Recent Examples on the Web

Harris, in her speech, blasted Trump as confused, unstable, and increasingly unhinged. —Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, 27 Oct. 2024

That feels unhinged [laughs] and more like me or Harley. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2024

But perhaps the most frustrating thing about the latest episode, Le Paradis Pour Toi, is the death of Isabelle at the hands of the increasingly unhinged Losang. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024

Meanwhile, Israel is acting like the world’s unfettered and unhinged superpower as the U.S. is reduced to its acolyte. —Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 12 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above