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

But the rub this time is the introduction of Varang (Oona Chaplin), an unhinged leader of a tribe who allies herself with human villains. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 26 June 2026

Domino’s jumping into a viral KitKat moment, Duolingo turning its unhinged owl mascot into a strategic brand voice, and Netflix extending its Tudum companion site into real-world fan experiences all point to how modern marketing rewards brands that move quickly without losing their identity. — Slma Shelbayah, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

The film’s director, uptight Euro expat Max (Christoph Waltz), is initially enraged by their hijacking of the shoot, but his studio fatcat bosses (both voiced by Jeff Bridges) love the unhinged results. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 June 2026

Blackwood, with her firsthand knowledge of drafty manors and unhinged families, explains with remorseless precision what lies behind the fantasy—what happens when the houses, and the people in them, are neither charismatic nor lovable. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 10 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unhinged

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