maniacal
adjective
ma·ni·a·cal
mə-ˈnī-ə-kəl 
variants
or less commonly maniac
1
: affected with or suggestive of madness
maniacal laughter
maniacal energy
a maniacal killer
2
: characterized by ungovernable excitement or frenzy : frantic
a maniacal mob
maniacal fans
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
- mental
- meshuga
- meshugge
- meshugah
- meshuggah
- moonstruck
- non compos mentis
- nuts
- nutty
- psycho
- psychotic
- scatty [chiefly British]
- screwy
- unbalanced
- unhinged
- unsound
- wacko
- whacko
- wacky
- whacky
- wud [chiefly Scottish]
Examples of maniacal in a Sentence
the movie's villain was a just a clichéd axe-wielding nutcase with a maniacal laugh
Recent Examples on the Web
Mia Goth shines as the maniacal Pearl, a lonely farm girl trapped at home in rural Texas with her controlling mother (Tandi Wright) and infirm father (Matthew Sunderland) while her husband, Howard (Alistair Sewell), is serving in World War I. Pearl has fervent dreams of becoming a Hollywood star.
—
Megan McCluskey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
Like Rose, Skye is constantly haunted by visions controlled by the entity, including chilling sights of people flashing maniacal smiles on their faces.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
These pals, along with their funny friends, set out to have some fun in the Catskills and ended up putting together a must-see movie that transports you on a road trip full of maniacal laughs, heartwarming laughs and even a few crying laughs.
—Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024
After calling a late-night party hotline that promises out-of-this-world fun, uptight yuppie Conor Sweeney must battle the pint-sized forces of evil unleashed through his phone line, led by the maniacal rock n’ roll goblin Frankie Freako.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for maniacal 
Megan McCluskey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
Like Rose, Skye is constantly haunted by visions controlled by the entity, including chilling sights of people flashing maniacal smiles on their faces.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
These pals, along with their funny friends, set out to have some fun in the Catskills and ended up putting together a must-see movie that transports you on a road trip full of maniacal laughs, heartwarming laughs and even a few crying laughs.
—Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024
After calling a late-night party hotline that promises out-of-this-world fun, uptight yuppie Conor Sweeney must battle the pint-sized forces of evil unleashed through his phone line, led by the maniacal rock n’ roll goblin Frankie Freako.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for maniacal
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maniacal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near maniacal
Cite this Entry
“Maniacal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maniacal. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
maniacal
adjective
ma·ni·a·cal
mə-ˈnī-ə-kəl
variants
also maniac
: affected with or suggestive of madness
Medical Definition
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