Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Mad

Mad

,
obs.
p.
p.
of
Made
.
Chaucer.

Mad

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Madder
;
sup
erl.
Maddest
.]
[AS.
gem[GREEK]d
,
gemād
, mad; akin to OS.
gem[GREEK]d
foolish, OHG.
gameit
, Icel.
mei[GREEK]a
to hurt, Goth.
gamáids
weak, broken. [GREEK].]
1.
Disordered in intellect; crazy; insane.
I have heard my grandsire say full oft,
Extremity of griefs would make men
mad
.
Shakespeare
2.
Excited beyond self-control or the restraint of reason; inflamed by violent or uncontrollable desire, passion, or appetite;
as, to be
mad
with terror, lust, or hatred;
mad
against political reform.
It is the land of graven images, and they are
mad
upon their idols.
Jer. 1. 88.
And being exceedingly
mad
against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
Acts xxvi. 11.
3.
Proceeding from, or indicating, madness; expressing distraction; prompted by infatuation, fury, or extreme rashness.
“Mad demeanor.”
Milton.
Mad
wars destroy in one year the works of many years of peace.
Franklin.
The
mad
promise of Cleon was fulfilled.
Jowett (Thucyd.).
4.
Extravagant; immoderate.
“Be mad and merry.”
Shak.
“Fetching mad bounds.”
Shak.
5.
Furious with rage, terror, or disease; – said of the lower animals;
as, a
mad
bull
; esp., having hydrophobia; rabid;
as, a
mad
dog
.
6.
Angry; out of patience; vexed;
as, to get
mad
at a person
.
[Colloq.]
7.
Having impaired polarity; – applied to a compass needle.
[Colloq.]
Like mad
,
like a mad person; in a furious manner;
as, to run
like mad
.
L’Estrange
.
–
To run mad
.
(a)
To become wild with excitement
.
(b)
To run wildly about under the influence of hydrophobia; to become affected with hydrophobia.
–
To run mad after
,
to pursue under the influence of infatuation or immoderate desire.
“The world is running mad after farce.”
Dryden.

Mad

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Madded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Madding
.]
To make mad or furious; to madden.
Had I but seen thy picture in this plight,
It would have
madded
me.
Shakespeare

Mad

,
Verb.
I.
To be mad; to go mad; to rave. See
Madding
.
[Archaic]
Chaucer.
Festus said with great voice, Paul thou
maddest
.
Wyclif (Acts).

Mad

,
Noun.
[AS.
ma[GREEK]a
; akin to D. & G.
made
, Goth.
mapa
, and prob. to E.
moth
.]
(Zool.)
An earthworm.
[Written also
made
.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Mad

MAD

,
Adj.
1.
Disordered in intellect; distracted; furious.
We must bind our passions in chains, lest like mad folks, they break their locks and bolts.
2.
Proceeding from disordered intellect or expressing it; as a mad demeanor.
3.
Enraged; furious; as a mad bull.
And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them, even to strange cities. Acts.26.
4.
Inflamed to excess with desire; excited with violent and unreasonable passion or appetite; infatuated; followed properly by after.
The world is running made after farce, the extremity of bad poetry.
'Mad upon their idols,' would be better rendered, 'Mad after their idols.' Jer.1.
5.
Distracted with anxiety or trouble; extremely perplexed.
Thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes--
Deut.28.
6.
Infatuated with folly.
The spiritual man is mad. Hos.9.
7.
Inflamed with anger; very angry. [This is a common and perhaps the most general sense of the word in America. It is thus used by Arbuthnot, and is perfectly proper.]
8.
Proceeding from folly or infatuation.
Mad wars destroy in one year the works of many years of peace.

MAD

,
Verb.
T.
To make mad, furious or angry.

MAD

,
Verb.
I.
To be mad, furious or wild.

MAD

Definition 2024

mad

mad

See also: MAD and mäd

English

Adjective

mad ‎(comparative madder, superlative maddest)

  1. Insane; crazy, mentally deranged.
    You want to spend $1000 on a pair of shoes? Are you mad?‎
    He's got this mad idea that he's irresistible to women.‎
    • Shakespeare
      I have heard my grandsire say full oft, / Extremity of griefs would make men mad.
  2. (chiefly US; UK dated + regional) Angry, annoyed.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 6, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man.
    Are you mad at me?‎
  3. Wildly confused or excited.
    to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred
    • Bible, Jer. 1. 88
      It is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
    • 1787: The Fair Syrian, R. Bage, p.314
      My brother, quiet as a cat, seems perfectly contented with the internal feelings of his felicity. The Marquis, mad as a kitten, is all in motion to express it, from tongue to heel.
  4. Extremely foolish or unwise; irrational; imprudent.
  5. (colloquial, usually with for or about) Extremely enthusiastic about; crazy about; infatuated with; overcome with desire for.
    Aren't you just mad for that red dress?‎
  6. (of animals) Abnormally ferocious or furious; or, rabid, affected with rabies.
    a mad dog‎
  7. (slang, chiefly Northeastern US) Intensifier, signifies an abundance or high quality of a thing; very, much or many.
    I gotta give you mad props for scoring us those tickets.   Their lead guitarist has mad skills.   There are always mad girls at those parties.‎
  8. (of a compass needle) Having impaired polarity.

Usage notes

While within the United States and Canada, the word mad does generally imply anger rather than insanity, such usage is still considered informal. Furthermore, if one is described as having "gone mad" or "went mad", this will unquestionably be taken as denoting insanity, and not anger. Meanwhile, if one "is mad at" something or has "been mad about" something, it will be assumed that they are angered rather than insane. In addition, if the word is understood as being used literally, it will most likely be taken as meaning "insane". Also, in addition to the former, such derivatives as "madness", "madman", "madhouse" and "madly" purely denote insanity, irrespective of whether one is in the Commonwealth or in the United States.

Lastly, within Commonwealth countries other than Canada, mad typically implies the insane or crazy sense more so than the angry sense.

Synonyms

Translations

Adverb

mad ‎(not comparable)

  1. (slang, New England, New York and Britain, dialect) Intensifier; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly; very; unbelievably.
    He was driving mad slow.
    It's mad hot today.
    He seems mad keen on her.

Synonyms

Verb

mad ‎(third-person singular simple present mads, present participle madding, simple past and past participle madded)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be or become mad. [14th-19th c.]
    • 1852, Washington Irving, Tales from the Alhambra:
      The imperial Elizabetta gazed with surprise at the youthful and unpretending appearance of the little being that had set the world madding.
  2. (now colloquial US) To madden, to anger, to frustrate. [from 15th c.]

Derived terms

Anagrams

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *mad, from Proto-Celtic *matis.

Adjective

mad

  1. good

Noun

mad

  1. goodness

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mad/, [mað]

Etymology

From Old Norse matr.

Noun

mad c (singular definite maden, not used in plural form)

  1. Food.

Inflection

Derived terms

Noun

mad c (singular definite madden, plural indefinite madder)

  1. A slice of bread with something on top.

Inflection

Usage notes

Very compound-prone; see for example ostemad or pølsemad.

Lojban

Rafsi

mad

  1. rafsi of marde.

Old Irish

Verb

mad

  1. third-person singular present subjunctive of masu
  2. third-person singular past subjunctive of masu

Palauan

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mata, from Proto-Austronesian *maCa.

Noun

mad

  1. (anatomy) eye (organ)

Welsh

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mɑːd/

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *mad, from Proto-Celtic *matis.

Adjective

mad ‎(feminine singular mad, plural mad)

  1. good
  2. lucky, fortunate
  3. suitable

Noun

mad m

  1. goodness

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
mad fad unchanged unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Etymology

From Middle English madd, medd, from Old English ġemǣdd, ġemǣded ‎(“enraged”), past participle of *ġemǣdan, *mǣdan ‎(“to make insane or foolish”), from Proto-Germanic *maidijaną ‎(“to change; damage; cripple; injure; make mad”), from Proto-Germanic *maidaz ("weak; crippled"; compare Old English gemād ‎(“silly, mad”), Old High German gimeit ‎(“foolish, crazy”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 ‎(gamaiþs, “crippled”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ("to change"; compare Old Irish máel ‎(“bald, dull”), Old Lithuanian ap-maitinti ‎(“to wound”), Sanskrit मेथति ‎(méthati, “he hurts, comes to blows”)).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mæd/
  • Rhymes: -æd

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