as in psychotic
unable to think in a clear or sensible way
a thoughtful movie about a demented man trying to survive on the street
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demented
My sudden and total exposure to this truth left me feeling demented.
—
Zadie Smith, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
The character Kracht sets off on a sentimental road trip with his demented, aging mother, who is also addicted to both drugs and alcohol.
—The Know, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Here, portrayed by a wonderfully demented Nicholas Hoult, Luthor contains unmistakable echoes of figures like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, men whose bearing or mien don’t quite sit within the same reality as the rest of us and are consequently bent on bending that reality to their image.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Just as demented and tense, but drunk on the confidence of youth and the arrogance to believe that talent and charm is enough.
—Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for demented
Zadie Smith, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
The character Kracht sets off on a sentimental road trip with his demented, aging mother, who is also addicted to both drugs and alcohol.
—The Know, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Here, portrayed by a wonderfully demented Nicholas Hoult, Luthor contains unmistakable echoes of figures like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, men whose bearing or mien don’t quite sit within the same reality as the rest of us and are consequently bent on bending that reality to their image.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
Just as demented and tense, but drunk on the confidence of youth and the arrogance to believe that talent and charm is enough.
—Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for demented
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demented
Adjective
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Norman Mailer achieved a similar thing in his non-fiction novel about Gary Gilmore The Executioner’s Song—although, by the time the book was published in 1979, the seedy, psychotic world of Gilmore and his two girlfriends, Nicole and April Baker, hardly came as a revelation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
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Since its introduction in 2022, only people with schizophrenia and other limited psychotic disorders have had access to the program.—
CalMatters,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The sanity phase of his trial began Thursday to determine whether Nicholson was legally insane at the time of the murders.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
23 Oct. 2025
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This lockdown is insane & disturbing with what happened during our investigation.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Huet succeeds in humanizing Daedone, who had an abusive father and a punishing childhood, and whose motivations come to seem understandable, if maniacal.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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Veneziale then takes part in the action, dressing up as a maniacal clown.—
Laura Kiniry,
Popular Science,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Fox News mad that there are so many old white people in America.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
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The woman was going to drive him mad.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
His attorneys asserted that the incident was a tragic misunderstanding, fueled by his poor mental state, and that Emerson never intended to harm anyone on board.—
Maddie Garfinkle,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
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Bence is an occupational therapist with a range of work experience in mental healthcare settings.—
Sarah Bence,
Verywell Health,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Demented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demented. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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