noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English maddnesse, from madd mad + -nesse -ness — more at mad
1. : the quality or state of being mad: as
a. : insanity
undergoes a period of madness in a mental hospital — W.E.Allen
b. : extreme folly : rashness
to grant such a demand would be strategic madness — H.W.Baldwin
c. : intense anger : rage
his editorials … often goaded the opposition to madness — W.E.Smith
d. : complete involvement in or concern with the pursuit of an object or activity
trivial by-products of her age's industrial madness — Sherwood Anderson
e. : ecstasy , enthusiasm
poetry has nothing to do with reasoning but is a sort of divine madness — Irving Babbitt
2. : any of several ailments of animals (as dogs) marked by frenzied or irrational behavior ; specifically : rabies