mania

1 of 2

noun

ma·​nia ˈmā-nē-ə How to pronounce mania (audio)
-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

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
My interest in America’s dog mania wasn’t only sociological. Sam Apple, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Even the mayor — Marion Barry — was swept up in the mania that left thousands dead in a decade when Washington statistically became the nation’s murder capital. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 29 Feb. 2024 In an age of AI FOMO mania, the markets demand a spotlight on any company’s embrace of the technology and are currently (and hopefully only temporarily) unenthused about EVs. David Meyer, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 Nvidia has been the biggest beneficiary of the AI mania dominating Wall Street. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2024 Part of the conversion mania was the public’s fascination with the Daytona Spider, which co-starred in such films as The Gumball Rally and A Star is Born, both released in 1976. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 12 Feb. 2024 But what on the surface appears to be a strange, inexplicable mania over one specific cup is actually just a peak of what has been a longer trend. Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 19 Jan. 2024 Its meteoric growth over the past year came as artificial intelligence mania consumedWall Street and helped power a ferocious bull market. Krystal Hur, CNN, 23 Feb. 2024 The craze was called tulip mania, or tulipomania, and caused the crash of the Dutch economy. Deb Wiley, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mania.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of mania was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near mania

Cite this Entry

“Mania.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mania. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mania

noun
ma·​nia ˈmā-nē-ə How to pronounce mania (audio)
-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
: excitement of psychotic proportions manifested by mental and physical hyperactivity, disorganization of behavior, and elevation of mood
specifically : the manic phase of bipolar disorder

More from Merriam-Webster on mania

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