unhinged

adjective

un·​hinged ˌən-ˈhinjd 

: highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught

attacked by an unhinged extremist

Somewhere along the way, her pursuit of a hot guy turned into unhinged obsession.

—Cosmopolitan

"Is this a new brand of humour? Or is your brain really unhinged?" inquired Tommy.

—Agatha Christie

see also unhinge

Synonyms of unhinged

• psychotic
• insane
• mad
• maniacal
• crazy
• mental

Examples of unhinged in a Sentence

destined to become one of the nation's most notorious serial killers, he apparently became unhinged as a result of being abandoned as a young teen

Recent Examples on the Web

Gyllenhaal’s empowerment story, meanwhile, feels like an unhinged scream. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026

Yet that is happening, because Congress is too weak and supplicant to assert its constitutional power against an unhinged executive. —Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2026

This is a very unhinged episode of Bake club. —Emily Elias, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Mar. 2026

The two shared an intense love connection on Homeland season 3, before his unhinged Marine Sgt. —Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unhinged

• cringed
• fringed
• hinged
• singed
• impinged
• infringed