craze

verb

\ ˈkrāz

crazed; crazing

Definition of craze

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 obsolete : break, shatter

2 : to produce minute cracks on the surface or glaze of crazed glass crazed pottery

3 : to make insane or as if insane crazed by pain and fear crazed addicts

intransitive verb

1 archaic : shatter, break

2 : to become insane

3 : to develop a mesh of fine cracks

craze

noun

Definition of craze (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : an exaggerated and often transient enthusiasm : mania the latest craze in music

2 : a crack in a surface or coating (as of glaze or enamel)

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about craze

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Choose the Right Synonym for craze

Noun

fashion, style, mode, vogue, fad, rage, craze mean the usage accepted by those who want to be up-to-date. fashion is the most general term and applies to any way of dressing, behaving, writing, or performing that is favored at any one time or place. the current fashion style often implies a distinctive fashion adopted by people of taste. a media baron used to traveling in style mode suggests the fashion of the moment among those anxious to appear elegant and sophisticated. slim bodies are the mode at this resort vogue stresses the wide acceptance of a fashion. short skirts are back in vogue fad suggests caprice in taking up or in dropping a fashion. last year's fad is over rage and craze stress intense enthusiasm in adopting a fad. Cajun food was the rage nearly everywhere for a time crossword puzzles once seemed just a passing craze but have lasted

Examples of craze in a Sentence

Verb

soldiers who had been crazed by months of combat and chaos in the countryside

Noun

if history is any guide, this latest diet for losing weight is just another craze

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Robert Mann, an airline consultant and former American Airlines executive, said windows are periodically polished to remove crazing, the formation of cracks in the acrylic windows from exposure to chemicals and the sun's rays. — Kathleen Joyce, Fox News, "Southwest Airlines flight diverts to Cleveland due to broken window," 2 May 2018 Investigators had been taught that crazing was indicative of fast-moving hot fires, likely caused by a flammable accelerant. — Maude Campbell, Popular Mechanics, "The 1991 Firestorm That Changed Everything We Thought We Knew About Arson," 8 Nov. 2018 That had never been done before and, after Oakland, never could be done, at least for crazing. — Maude Campbell, Popular Mechanics, "The 1991 Firestorm That Changed Everything We Thought We Knew About Arson," 8 Nov. 2018 The chemicals in these products will cause the finish to cloud and craze over time. — Scot Meacham Wood, House Beautiful, "Ask a Designer: How To Decorate With the Acrylic Trend," 12 Mar. 2015 Robert Mann, an airline consultant and former American Airlines executive, said windows are periodically polished to remove crazing, the formation of tiny cracks in the acrylic windows from exposure to chemicals and the sun’s rays. — Mark Gillispie And David Koenig, BostonGlobe.com, "Southwest plane with cracked window diverted to Cleveland," 2 May 2018 Becker then built a stout wire fence around his reservation and lived in peace until last week when a killer whale, or orca, arrived and so harried the sea lions that, crazed with fright, the lions smashed down his fence and swarmed his lighthouse. — Johnny Miller, San Francisco Chronicle, "Reporter Randy Shilts announces he has AIDS, 1993," 7 Feb. 2018 While the other characters explore romance and sexuality, Jamal explores desperation, getting increasingly crazed by the episode. — Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, "Rolling Deep With The On My Block RollerWorld Conspiracy," 28 Mar. 2018 Lesser clay bricks that might be used for construction of walls often craze and crumble after several winters in contact with soil. — Courtney Ortega, star-telegram, "Great garden-path options to ponder," 1 Nov. 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

There’s now an ETF for anyone wanting to bet on the trade war, gamble on the cannabis craze, or go all-in on the death of the mall. — Rachel Evans, latimes.com, "Trade war? Cannabis? Avocados? There's an ETF for that, or could be (maybe)," 6 June 2019 To whit: Soul patches, Vanilla Ice, tribal tattoos, toe rings, the swing dancing craze, and. . . — Corey Seymour, Vogue, "Ray Gun—The Magazine That Defined the Alt-'90s—Lives Again," 23 May 2019 But shrimp feels like a hybrid of the conch shell and cherry craze. — Tara Gonzalez, Glamour, "The Next Big 2019 Fashion Trend Is... Shrimp?," 12 Apr. 2019 Many of you jumped on the modernized pressure cooker, Instant Pot, multicooker craze long ago, but for some of us (Todd A. Price and me, for instance,) the appliances made their debuts this Christmas. — Ann Maloney, NOLA.com, "Get an Instant Pot for Christmas? Revisit this NYT user guide to multicookers," 9 Jan. 2018 This week brought a new face to the eating craze in Mosaic. — Laura Forman, WSJ, "Frozen Dinners Are Back, but May Get Iced Out," 3 May 2019 Bobby Gin The global gin craze is in full swing, and nowhere is that more on show than at Bobby Gin, which boasts 80 different varieties, as well as seven different tonic waters. — Naren Young, Condé Nast Traveler, "19 Best Bars in Barcelona," 3 Mar. 2018 Then the postdoc got caught up in the Crispr craze. — Megan Molteni, WIRED, "Inside a Chemist’s Quest to Hack Evolution and Cure Genetic Disease," 12 June 2018 The bun is black from the charcoal baked into the batter-a popular, if medically unproven, health craze-and a bit spongier. — Lucas Shaw, The Seattle Times, "From pig-shaped bao to ‘Pac Man’ dumplings, chefs now make dim sum for the Instagram generation," 25 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'craze.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.