mania

1 of 2

noun

ma·​nia ˈmā-nē-ə 

-nyə

1

: excitement manifested by mental and physical hyperactivity, disorganization of behavior, and elevation of mood

specifically : the manic phase of bipolar disorder

2

a

: excessive or unreasonable enthusiasm

a mania for saving things

—often used in combination

b

: the object of such enthusiasm

His current mania is football.

-mania

2 of 2

noun combining form

1

a

: mental illness

monomania

b

: excessive or abnormal propensity or desire

pyromania

trichotillomania

2

: absorbing interest : extreme enthusiasm

balletomania

bibliomania

Synonyms of mania

Noun

• dementia
• insanity
• hysteria
• madness
• schizophrenia

Examples of mania in a Sentence

Noun

She would typically experience a period of mania and then suddenly become deeply depressed.

The entire city has been gripped by baseball mania.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

What's your relationship to paparazzi and social media mania, given you’ve been in the spotlight for so long? — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Other moviegoers adored his campy but somehow restrained mania as the butler in Clue, or delighted in his nasty smarm as the concierge in Home Alone 2. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 26 Aug. 2026

People with bipolar 2 disorder experience cycles of depression and hypomania, which is less intense than the mania experienced with bipolar 1 disorder. — Michael Casey, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Clancy suffers from bipolar II disorder, a classification of the disorder that is not associated with mania, according to a diagnosis by Heilbrun. — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, "mental disorder, frenzy," borrowed from Late Latin, borrowed from Greek manía "madness, frenzy," noun derivative (with -ia -ia entry 1) from the base of maínomai, maínesthai "to rage, rave, be frenzied, be out of one's mind," going back to an Indo-European present stem *mn̥-i̯é- (from the verbal base *men- "form a thought"), whence also Old Irish doˑmoinethar "(s/he) supposes, expects," Sanskrit mányate "(s/he) thinks," Avestan mainiieṇte "(they) consider, take for"; also as stative verbs (< *mn̥-h₂i̯é-?) Old Church Slavic mĭnjǫ, mĭněti "to think, suppose," Lithuanian miniù, minė́ti "to mention, commemorate" — more at mind entry 1

Noun combining form

borrowed from Greek -mania, combining form from manía "madness, frenzy" — more at mania

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mania

• collectanea
• hypomania
• miscellanea
• monomania
• leishmania
• urania
• megalomania
• mania
• taenia

Kids Definition

mania

noun

ma·​nia ˈmā-nē-ə 

-nyə

1

: excitement that is expressed through excessive physical and mental activity and extreme cheerfulness

2

: excessive enthusiasm : craze

had a mania for saving things

Medical Definition

mania

noun

ma·​nia ˈmā-nē-ə, -nyə 

: excitement of psychotic proportions manifested by mental and physical hyperactivity, disorganization of behavior, and elevation of mood

specifically : the manic phase of bipolar disorder