I. ˈmad, -aa(ə)-, -ai- adjective
( madder ; maddest )
Etymology: Middle English medd, madd, from Old English ge mǣd, ge mǣded, past participle of (assumed) gemǣdan to make silly or mad, from gemād silly, mad; akin to Old Saxon gimēd foolish, crazy, Old High German gimeit foolish, crazy, Old Norse meitha to hurt, mutilate, Gothic gamaidans, accusative plural, crippled, wounded, Old Irish māel bald, dull, Welsh moel bald, Sanskrit methati he hurts; basic meaning: chop, chop off
1.
a. : disordered in mind : crazy , insane
the man was mad and had berserk fits of superhuman strength and rage — Charles Kingsley
b. : arising from, indicative of, or marked by mental disorder
no lunatic in a mad fit, but a sane man fighting for his soul — Bram Stoker
2.
a. : completely unrestrained by reason and judgment : utterly foolish : senseless
she's mad … to throw away money and position for some hole-and-corner existence with a good-looking lawyer's clerk — Clara Morris
b. : arising from or indicative of a lack of reason and judgment : rash
was so astounded by this mad project on the part of her husband … that she had not a word to say — William Black
c. : incapable of being explained, interpreted, or accounted for : illogical
facts which fairly shriek for explanation; for without an explanation they're mad , irrational, utterly incredible — W.H.Wright
3.
a. : carried away by intense anger : enraged , furious
was so mad … that I thought I could shoot the man — Liam O'Flaherty
b. : keenly displeased : angry , irked
looked mad for a second but then … began to laugh — Robert Lowry
mad as a wet hen
4.
a. : carried away by enthusiasm, infatuation, or desire
men were mad for her and any girl liked men's attentions — Barnaby Conrad
was not fundamentally mad about a home and kids — Rex Ingamells
the students were all perfectly mad on highbrow music — Arnold Bennett
b. : arising from or marked by intense enthusiasm, infatuation, or desire
a nation … engaged in the mad pursuit of wealth — Saturday Review
has been having a mad vogue in Europe and is constantly written about — New Yorker
5. : affected with rabies : rabid
a mad dog
6. : marked by wild or irresponsible gaiety and merriment : hilarious
of their childhood, of the mad pranks they played — Winston Churchill
7.
a. : intensely excited, distraught, or frantic
driving him mad with jealousy — Edmund Wilson
b. : arising from or indicative of intense excitement or distress
tried to reach it in a mad resolve to claw into the wood with my nails — Jack London
8. : marked by intense and often chaotic activity : wild , furious
a mad scramble for the sides of the ship — A.C.Whitehead
Synonyms: see angry
II. verb
( madded ; madded ; madding ; mads )
Etymology: Middle English madden, from medd, madd, adjective
intransitive verb
archaic : to act in an insane or furious manner : rage
transitive verb
: to make mad:
a. archaic : to make insane
b. : to make angry : exasperate
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: mad (I)
1. : anger , fury
the fight had taken all the mad out of me — H.E.Giles
2. : a fit or mood of angry temper
had worked up a mad before he bayoneted the corporal — R.O.Bowen
still had a bit of a mad on — William Forrest