1
as in insanity
a serious mental disorder that prevents one from living a safe and normal life
nowadays certain forms of madness are quite treatable
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in simplicity
lack of good sense or judgment
to do something so reckless would be sheer madness
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3
as in anger
an intense emotional state of displeasure with someone or something
her incessant insults goaded him to such madness that he would storm around breaking dishes and slamming doors
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of madness
The Los Angeles Dodgers are champions again, with a scrapbook of madness to be told and retold for generations in Southern California.
—
Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
For a challenge this size, that’s madness.
—Gus Bartholomew, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
As the two keepers' accelerating madness batters their already uneasy relationship, the film becomes a phantasmagorical endurance test, with the two antagonistic leads hurling themselves against their tight confinement.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
The showrunners of Welcome to Derry geniusly repurposed one of The Music Man’s songs as the haunting soundtrack to Derry’s descent into madness.
—Alexis Mikulski Ruiz, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for madness
Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
For a challenge this size, that’s madness.
—Gus Bartholomew, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
As the two keepers' accelerating madness batters their already uneasy relationship, the film becomes a phantasmagorical endurance test, with the two antagonistic leads hurling themselves against their tight confinement.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
The showrunners of Welcome to Derry geniusly repurposed one of The Music Man’s songs as the haunting soundtrack to Derry’s descent into madness.
—Alexis Mikulski Ruiz, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for madness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for madness
Noun
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This insanity has to stop before anyone else gets hurt.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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Though his legal team argued insanity, Guiteau was found guilty of murder in January 1882 and executed five months later.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The absurdity of the image—and the simplicity of the complaint—also sparked a flood of lighthearted responses.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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McMillan chose to focus on pets, building his method around simplicity.—
Jane Stern,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The thumping Republicans took in this week's elections reflected longer-running anger among constituencies that already leaned Democratic, but the GOP needs to worry that the government shutdown will cause that frustration to spread.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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And that is why my first true voice—the one that could hold complexity, contradiction, grief, even anger—came in English.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Future studies will look at whether stabilizing blood pressure—through adjusting medication timing, regular exercise or stress management—could slow brain aging and reduce dementia risk.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
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In Memory, Chastain played a social worker and single mother whose structured life is thrown into chaos when a young man dealing with dementia, played by Peter Sarsgaard, follows her home from their high school reunion.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The restaurant is worth the trek, too, with relatively small, tasty burgers that are topped with all manner of craziness, from peanut butter to giardiniera to sauerkraut to pineapple.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
22 Oct. 2025
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Oh, and the milchiks, and flaishiks besides, all those meshuggeneh rules and regulations on top of their own private craziness!—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This explains the indignation of those carrying college debt who demanded Joe Biden make their loans go away.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
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No one should forget that songs and lyrics, especially during dark and troubled times, can create awareness, be used to arouse indignation, even bring about social change.—
Ray Rahman,
Vulture,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Decades before Salem, hysteria over witchcraft was already sweeping through England – and perhaps nowhere more fervently than in the southeast, such as in the neighboring counties of Kent and Essex, which border London.—
James Frater,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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Critics will predictably argue that those two positions are inherently linked; on the opposite side of the political spectrum, oil and gas partisans could point to Gates’ essay as proof that climate hysteria was misguided all along and that fossil use should continue unimpeded.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Why was right tackle Larry Borom back on the field immediately after his false start turned a 4th and 1 into a 4th and 6, triggering a rare public display of rage by McDaniel, before Riley Patterson missed a 35-yard field goal?—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
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Now free, Alma’s emaciated, adult form wanders the world, unending rage bent on revenge.—
Will Borger,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Madness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/madness. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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