bonkers

adjective

bon·​kers ˈbäŋ-kərz 

ˈbȯŋ-

1

informal : very fond, enthusiastic, or excited

She's bonkers for/about opera.

He's bonkers for/about her.

The fans went bonkers when their team won.

2

informal : very angry, annoyed, or bothered

Faced with the choice of being driven bonkers by their colicky newborn or inviting an outsider into their lives, Phil and Julie sanely decide to find a nanny.

—Booklist

And the internet went completely and utterly bonkers about it, with critics climbing over one another to criticize Cyrus …

—Tom Hawking

3

a

informal : surprisingly or shockingly excessive or outrageous

bonkers prices

a bonkers accusation

b

informal : going beyond what is normal or conventional in a way that is fun, impressive, exciting, etc.

High-end, high-concept, completely bonkers brilliance: that's what arts festivals are for, in my opinion.

—Max Rashbrooke

One of The Future's zanier aspects is a bonkers eight-minute R&B arrangement of the Irving Berlin standard "Always," complete with horns and background vocals.

—Anthony DeCurtis

The Queen of Black Magic is a rollicking rollercoaster of a horror flick. … It's the sort of bonkers throw-out-all-the-stops ride that brings to mind Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films …

—Jason Adams

4

informal + sometimes offensive : not mentally sound

Meanwhile, the greedy trustees of her fortune are trying to confuse her enough to have her declared bonkers so they can make their jobs permanent.

—Ray Olson

Synonyms

• balmy
• barmy [chiefly British]
• bats
• batty
• bedlam
• 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
• unhinged
• unsound
• wacko
• whacko
• wacky
• whacky
• wud [chiefly Scottish]

Examples of bonkers in a Sentence

You have to be bonkers to gamble that much.

I was driven bonkers by the noise.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hulu’s new show from the creator of Luther is a totally bonkers melange of sci-fi scenarios, global doom, and stabbiness. —Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2018

Graffiti historian Roger Gastman—who helped orchestrate MOCA’s record-setting Art in the Streets show in 2011—takes over a 40,000-square-foot warehouse on the edge of Chinatown for a totally bonkers street art experience. —Marielle Wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, 21 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from bonk + -ers (as in crackers)

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Phrases Containing bonkers

• driven bonkers
• went bonkers