1
as in dementia
a serious mental disorder that prevents one from living a safe and normal life
his incurable insanity requires that he spend the rest of his life in a mental hospital
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2
as in absurdity
a foolish act or idea
everyone laughed at the latest insanity from the town eccentric
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3
as in madness
lack of good sense or judgment
had the insanity to think that taking over a government building in protest of our foreign policy was a good idea
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of insanity
The legal team for Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course in September, is considering an insanity defense.
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Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
That’s still a bit shy, though, of the insanity that surrounded Stanley cups at their peak.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2024
The sketches were seen on TV during Hinckley’s trial, which ended with him being sent to Washington’s St. Elizabeths Psychiatric Hospital after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Dec. 2024
The line of dialogue was famously improvised by Grant, playing a mild-mannered paleontologist driven to near insanity by Katharine Hepburn’s heiress Susan, who has made off with his clothing, thus forcing him to wear the fur-accented sleepwear.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for insanity 
Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
That’s still a bit shy, though, of the insanity that surrounded Stanley cups at their peak.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2024
The sketches were seen on TV during Hinckley’s trial, which ended with him being sent to Washington’s St. Elizabeths Psychiatric Hospital after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Dec. 2024
The line of dialogue was famously improvised by Grant, playing a mild-mannered paleontologist driven to near insanity by Katharine Hepburn’s heiress Susan, who has made off with his clothing, thus forcing him to wear the fur-accented sleepwear.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for insanity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insanity
Noun
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But his defense attorneys had argued that Girardi’s dementia and ongoing cognitive decline warranted keeping him out of prison and in the memory care ward of his Orange County nursing home.Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
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Numerous studies have shown a link between not wearing hearing aids and the progression of dementia in people with hearing loss.Mill Etienne, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Some bills memorably illustrated the absurdity of a system that turns ordinary mishaps into extraordinary revenues.Elisabeth Rosenthal, NPR, 20 Dec. 2024
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While the absurdity of Skibidi Toilet can be baffling to many (including Gen Z), its cultural impact has been so significant that Gerasimov is in talks with director Michael Bay to adapt a movie and television series.George Yang, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Ford, in what only can be described a bout of corporate madness, kept them.Jeremy White, WIRED, 21 Dec. 2024
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Medusa was known in ancient Greece for petrifying anyone who dared to look her in the eye, and has been seen as a personification of madness.Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The sightings have provoked hysteria among residents and fears of in-air collisions with commercial planes and helicopters.Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 13 Dec. 2024
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Under the direction of David Tedeschi, the film brings back the tears of hysteria that accompanied the band’s every move in the U.S., and generates some fresh tears from some of its contemporary interview subjects, who tell how the band’s advent changed their lives.Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Dec. 2024
Noun
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In other words, people managed to eat, sleep, make love, and progress despite the shocking stupidity of the country’s first democratic government that was founded in Weimar after WWI.John Tamny, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
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Whereas other characters are defined by their flaws — Moe’s lack of a love life, Skinner’s crippling attachment to his mother, and Homer’s general stupidity — Flanders is always relatively free of problems.Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Embracing Simplicity In Modern Solutions Modern hardware capabilities allow for a paradigm shift toward simplicity.Avery Pennarun, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
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The track’s production, helmed by DJ Pooh, achieves emotional depth through masterful simplicity.Walaa Elsiddig, Billboard, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The former street performer was homeless, suffered from schizophrenia and had synthetic marijuana in his system.Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 13 Dec. 2024
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The National Institutes of Health estimates that 30 percent of schizophrenia cases among men aged 21-30 are caused by cannabis.Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near insanity
Cite this Entry
“Insanity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insanity. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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