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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in absurdity
a foolish act or idea
everyone laughed at the latest insanity from the town eccentric
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of insanity
Weeks later, more insanity ensued, the 50th home run ball selling for $4.39 million at auction, the highest price ever paid for any ball in any sport.
—
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
Germain, who teaches law at Syracuse University in New York, said that, given the weight of evidence, insanity is likely the only defense that will work.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Read more Luigi Mangione case has 'Highest risk' of jury nullification—legal analyst
Will Luigi Mangione's insanity defense work?
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Einstein never said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for insanity 
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
Germain, who teaches law at Syracuse University in New York, said that, given the weight of evidence, insanity is likely the only defense that will work.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Read more Luigi Mangione case has 'Highest risk' of jury nullification—legal analyst
Will Luigi Mangione's insanity defense work?
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Einstein never said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for insanity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insanity
Noun
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Advertisement Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s triumphant L.A. debut coincides with forthcoming doc about his dementia Nightclub drag shows will always hold a special place in Delta’s heart.—
Candace Hansen,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
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With 80% of dementia cases projected to be in the Global South by 2050, international collaboration remains crucial.—
Tarun Galagali,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Winner: While o1 Pro made a good showing, the sheer wild absurdity of the DeepSeek R1 response won us over.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
28 Jan. 2025
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The Real Housewives franchise started as a modest examination into the absurdities of the quotidian lives of the upper class — a little bit Desperate Housewives, a little bit Laguna Beach, with a lot of glam in between.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Amid the madness and tension of the most recent presidential-election campaign, a wild form of clickbait video started flying around the political internet.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2025
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The harsh fact is that after Oct. 7 neither Israel nor the second Trump administration are going to have tolerance for Hamas continuing their reign of madness and delusion in Gaza.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
Newsweek,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Also deeply familiar is the tabloid hysteria, which has since become our universal ALL-CAPS way of communicating.—
Glynnis MacNicol,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2025
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Ellen is a more passive counterpart to Thomasin, the teenage heroine played by fellow big-eyed blonde Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch, in that she’s also been pathologized by the strictures of her era, her psychic sensitivities interpreted by those around her as signs of hysteria or mental illness.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Watch stupidity and laziness (my much better working title for The End of Work was The End of Laziness) rapidly disappear as technological advance erases so much of what people used to do for a living in favor of living for work.—
John Tamny,
Forbes,
3 Dec. 2024
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Their books’ fantasies of martyrdom and religious metaphysics are a feint so as not to recognize the need for socialism at home and abroad, and to obscure American stupidity.—
Mark Greif,
Harper's Magazine,
26 July 2024
Noun
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Poetic in its simplicity yet crafted with as meticulous attention to detail as Hujar’s reflections on his day, this is a singular meditation on the life of an influential artist for whom major recognition came only after his death.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Jan. 2025
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External vacuum sealers tend to be smaller and more easily storable, and some offer onboard bag roll storage and bag cutters for all-in-one simplicity.—
Adam Campbell-Schmitt,
Bon Appétit,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The police said that the stranger was Waldo Mejia, a man with a history of schizophrenia.—
Lola Fadulu,
New York Times,
22 Jan. 2025
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There have been some studies suggesting that GLP-1 medications reduce symptoms of schizophrenia in animals.—
Brenda Goodman,
CNN,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near insanity
Cite this Entry
“Insanity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insanity. Accessed 4 Feb. 2025.
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