Synonyms of haywire

haywire 1 of 2

adjective

ˈhā-ˌwī(-ə)r 

1

as in down

not being in working order

The website went haywire when it was overloaded with visitors seeking tickets.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• down
• malfunctioning
• broken
• nonfunctional
• inoperable
• nonfunctioning
• inoperative
• off
• out of commission
• kaput
• useless
• on the fritz
• on the blink
• nonoperating
• ineffective
• unusable
• unworkable
• ineffectual
• unproductive
• deactivated
• deadlocked
• nonproductive

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• functioning
• operating
• operational
• operative
• working
• functional
• effective
• running
• useful
• operable
• productive
• viable
• workable
• producing
• operant
• usable
• effectual
• serving
• performing
• employable

2

as in mad

unable to think in a clear or sensible way

She gradually went haywire with grief after the tragic death of her husband.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mad
• psychotic
• insane
• maniacal
• crazy
• nuts
• mental
• disturbed
• psycho
• crazed
• unbalanced
• unhinged
• demented
• deranged
• off
• loco
• around the bend
• depressed
• strange
• bonkers
• cracked
• foolish
• batty
• nutty
• irrational
• non compos mentis
• out to lunch
• daft
• brainsick
• unsound
• certifiable
• eccentric
• ballistic
• obsessed
• distracted
• distraught
• fey
• queer
• frantic
• crackers
• disordered
• loopy
• bats
• wud
• unreasonable
• berserk
• off one's rocker
• off one's gourd
• off one's head
• nuclear
• aberrant
• delirious
• out of one's head
• odd
• dotty
• hysterical
• touched
• delusionary
• delusional
• oddball
• pixilated
• amok
• witless
• teched
• frenzied
• potty
• senseless
• fixated
• monomaniacal
• ape
• raving
• wigged-out
• bananas
• monomaniac

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sound
• balanced
• sane
• reasonable
• clear
• rational
• normal
• wise
• lucid
• uncrazy
• compos mentis
• sensible
• judicious
• healthy
• well-adjusted
• unneurotic

haywire

2 of 2

adverb

as in uncontrollably

Related Words

• uncontrollably
• crazily
• desperately
• amok
• confusedly
• agitatedly
• frantically
• wild
• hectically
• frenziedly
• feverishly
• berserk
• wildly
• frenetically
• recklessly
• madly
• harum-scarum
• heedlessly
• skittishly
• berserkly
• turbulently
• riotously
• haphazardly
• haphazard
• wantonly
• tumultuously
• helter-skelter
• topsy-turvy
• chaotically
• aimlessly
• pell-mell
• hotheadedly
• hit or miss

Dissimilar Words

• calmly
• coolly
• peacefully
• serenely
• unconcernedly
• mildly
• placidly
• imperturbably
• systematically
• composedly
• meekly
• passively
• orderly
• collectedly
• tamely
• self-possessedly
• methodically
• self-composedly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of haywire

Adverb

Robot meltdown — The LLMs also sometimes went haywire in unexpected ways. — Billy Perrigo, Time, 28 Oct. 2025

The Baltimore Orioles' season went haywire fast after a disappointing offseason that saw ace Corbin Burnes walk, and with no real replacement added to their pitching staff. — Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025

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