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

Now the guy is going full unhinged, and no one can blame him. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024

Mangione appears to have left a sizable internet history, which is more recognizable than it is unhinged or upsetting. —Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2024

The unhinged duo struck Valez with their fists and a cane before the male attacker brought Luna into the room, accused him of stealing a moped battery and beat him to death, Kenny said. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 11 Dec. 2024

The Locust formed back in 1994 and rapidly made a name for themselves for their unhinged live shows, aggressive blend of grindcore and new wave, and their onstage costumes as insects. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above