1
as in insane
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
He's full of creative ideas, but some are truly batty and lead nowhere.
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2
as in psychotic
unable to think in a clear or sensible way
Being cooped up together all weekend can make a family go a bit batty.
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Recent Examples of batty
Instead, channel vibes that are more wickedly stylish than batty.
—
Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 15 Sep. 2025
After the batty banter, Ted admitted that he was frustrated because Pellegrini came into his brother Eddie’s diner, and now the mobster has Eddie and Ted’s girlfriend scared.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 16 Mar. 2025
Hot on the heels of 2022’s brilliantly batty tech-slasher and this year’s Afraid is Subservience, which is now streaming on Netflix.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2024
Guillermo Del Toro’s debut film is a radical departure from Dracula and his batty ilk, as vampirism is reimagined as a side effect of the immortality granted by a wondrous mechanism created by a 16th-century alchemist.
—James Grebey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for batty
Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 15 Sep. 2025
After the batty banter, Ted admitted that he was frustrated because Pellegrini came into his brother Eddie’s diner, and now the mobster has Eddie and Ted’s girlfriend scared.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 16 Mar. 2025
Hot on the heels of 2022’s brilliantly batty tech-slasher and this year’s Afraid is Subservience, which is now streaming on Netflix.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2024
Guillermo Del Toro’s debut film is a radical departure from Dracula and his batty ilk, as vampirism is reimagined as a side effect of the immortality granted by a wondrous mechanism created by a 16th-century alchemist.
—James Grebey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for batty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for batty
Adjective
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And leading the country is a megalomaniac — Anthony Starr’s always riveting Homelander — who might be going insane.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
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By any normal corporate logic, this was an insane thing to promise.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Philip Seymour Hoffman played him on Broadway as a near-psychotic, his philandering very much to blame for the fall of his elder son, Biff.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
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Less commonly, some people experience psychotic symptoms, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, paranoia, confusion or emotional distress.—
Hollis Karoly,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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William Atherton’s Jerry Hathaway—the money-hungry mad king behind Project Crossbow—is unfortunately medium plausible.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
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Kimi and Margo go at each other at the picnic, and now Margo is mad at Mark.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Bones is a pretty stellar action heroine, if only for her rah-rah speeches and her maniacal laughter in the face of men who seek to control her.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
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Even when discussing this premise, his maniacal desire to win seeps through.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Even if the Bengals prefer to rely on Carter and Knight’s development, risky but not crazy, the lack of pedigree surrounding them is startling.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
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Schlafly also had a distinctive ability to drive feminists crazy.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Like, to have Hughie kick A-Train’s head off would’ve been nuts.—
Derek Lawrence,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
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And the producers are telling me that the audiences are going nuts.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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That, and [making] stupid pictures of my friends.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
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But most players aren’t stupid.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports.—
Mike Conley,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
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For generations, 911 operators have been the backbone of the American emergency response network, answering calls for help, and then dispatching and coordinating police and firefighters, SWAT teams, mental-health counselors and animal-control officers.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Batty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/batty. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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