maniacal
adjective
Synonyms
- balmy
- barmy [chiefly British]
- bats
- batty
- bedlam
- bonkers
- brainsick
- bughouse [slang]
- certifiable
- crackbrained
- cracked
- crackers
- crackpot
- cranky [dialect]
- crazed
- crazy
- cuckoo
- daffy
- daft
- demented
- deranged
- fruity [slang]
- gaga
- haywire
- insane
- kooky
- kookie
- loco [slang]
- loony
- looney
- loony tunes
- looney tunes
- lunatic
- mad
- mental
- meshuga
- meshugge
- meshugah
- meshuggah
- moonstruck
- non compos mentis
- nuts
- nutty
- psycho
- psychotic
- scatty [chiefly British]
- screwy
- unbalanced
- unhinged
- unsound
- wacko
- whacko
- wacky
- whacky
- wud [chiefly Scottish]
Examples of maniacal in a Sentence
Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2023
Not only do Bamboozled’s gritty aesthetic and maniacal spirit bolster its message about Hollywood’s racist core, but Lee implicates everyone — from the white television executive (Michael Rapaport) to the mixed-race audiences who make Pierre’s show a success.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
The plot is simplicity itself, but each of the villains has his own maniacal flavor.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024
In all of comics, there is no rogue’s gallery more garish, more inspired, or more maniacal than the Joker, Two-Face, the Penguin, and the Scarecrow.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
However, Xi then rose, a decade ago, as the new, though less maniacal Mao, ensuring the end of that era much sooner than 2047.
—Doug Bandow, National Review, 10 Feb. 2024
Bowles does not have Gruden’s maniacal intensity on the sideline.
—John Romano, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2024
The film follows three kids (Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, and Spencer Locke) who are worried that a neighboring home is secretly a maniacal monster.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2023
Since his debut in 2011’s Thor, Tom Hiddleston’s god of mischief has died and been resurrected too many times to count, evolving from angsty little brother to maniacal villain to reluctant hero in his own right.
—EW.com, 15 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maniacal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle French maniaque "mad, frenzied" & its source, Late Latin maniacus + -al entry 1 — more at maniac entry 1
1526, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Articles Related to maniacal
Dictionary Entries Near maniacal
Cite this Entry
“Maniacal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maniacal. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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maniacal
adjective
Medical Definition
More from Merriam-Webster on maniacal
Nglish: Translation of maniacal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of maniacal for Arabic Speakers
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