Nearby Words

Insanity

[in-san-i-tee] Example Sentences Origin

in·san·i·ty

[in-san-i-tee]
noun, plural in·san·i·ties.
1.
the condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind. dementia, lunacy, madness, craziness, mania, aberration.
2.
Law. such unsoundness of mind as frees one from legal responsibility, as for committing a crime, or as signals one's lack of legal capacity, as for entering into a contractual agreement.
3.
Psychiatry. (formerly) psychosis.
4.
a.
extreme foolishness; folly; senselessness; foolhardiness: Trying to drive through that traffic would be pure insanity.
b.
a foolish or senseless action, policy, statement, etc.: We've heard decades of insanities in our political discourse.

Origin:
1580–90; < Latin insānitās. See in-3, sanity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Insanity is always a great word to know.
So is assignment. Does it mean:
the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer; a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors
a judicial process or order requiring the person or persons to whom it is directed to do a particular act or to refrain from doing a particular act
Example Sentences
  • Next to insanity itself, the saddest thing in the world is the way in which the public regard it.
  • They say that the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing but expecting to get different results.
  • Fortunately, the government has understood the insanity of this.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
insanity (ɪnˈsænɪtɪ)
 
n , pl -ties
1.  relatively permanent disorder of the mind; state or condition of being insane
2.  law a defect of reason as a result of mental illness, such that a defendant does not know what he or she is doing or that it is wrong
3.  utter folly; stupidity

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

insanity
1580s, from L. insanitatem "unhealthfulness," noun of quality from insanus (see insane).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

insanity in·san·i·ty (ĭn-sān'ĭ-tē)
n.

  1. Persistent mental disorder or derangement.

  2. Unsoundness of mind sufficient in the judgment of a civil court to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or to warrant commitment to a mental health facility.

  3. In most criminal jurisdictions, a degree of mental malfunctioning considered to be sufficient to relieve the accused of legal responsibility for the act committed.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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