Insanity definition | Dictionary.com

in⋅san⋅i⋅ty

[in-san-i-tee]

–noun, plural -ties.

1.	the condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind.

2.	Law. such unsoundness of mind as affects legal responsibility or capacity.

3.	Psychiatry. (formerly) psychosis.

4.	extreme folly; senselessness; foolhardiness.

Origin:
1580–90; < L insānitās. See in- ³ , sanity

Synonyms:
1. dementia, lunacy, madness, craziness, mania, aberration.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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in·san·i·ty (ĭn-sān'ĭ-tē)

n. pl. in·san·i·ties

Mental illness or derangement. No longer in scientific use.
Law
1. 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.
2. In most criminal jurisdictions, a degree of mental malfunctioning sufficient to relieve the accused of legal responsibility for the act committed.
3. Extreme foolishness; folly.
4. Something that is extremely foolish.
1. Extreme foolishness; folly.
2. Something that is extremely foolish.

Synonyms: These nouns denote conditions of serious mental disability. Insanity is a grave, often prolonged condition that prevents a person from being held legally responsible for his or her actions: was judged not guilty for reasons of insanity.
Lunacy often denotes derangement relieved intermittently by periods of clear-mindedness: yelled wildly in a moment of utter lunacy.
Madness often stresses the violent aspect of mental illness: a story about obsession and madness.
Mania refers principally to the excited, or manic, phase of bipolar disorder: prescribed drugs to control the patient's periods of mania.
Dementia implies mental deterioration brought on by an organic brain disorder: underwent progressive stages of dementia.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Insanity

In*san"i*ty\, n. [L. insanitas unsoundness; cf. insania insanity, F. insanite.]

1. The state of being insane; unsoundness or derangement of mind; madness; lunacy.

All power of fancy overreason is a degree of insanity. --Johnson.

Without grace The heart's insanity admits no cure. --Cowper.

2. (Law) Such a mental condition, as, either from the existence of delusions, or from incapacity to distinguish between right and wrong, with regard to any matter under action, does away with individual responsibility.

Syn: Syn>- Insanity, Lunacy, Madness, Derangement, Aliention, Aberration, Mania, Delirium, Frenzy, Monomania, Dementia.

Usage: Insanity is the generic term for all such diseases; lunacy has now an equal extent of meaning, though once used to denote periodical insanity; madness has the same extent, though originally referring to the rage created by the disease; derangement, alienation, are popular terms for insanity; delirium, mania, and frenzy denote excited states of the disease; dementia denotes the loss of mental power by this means; monomania is insanity upon a single subject.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Main Entry: in·san·i·ty
Function: noun
1 : unsoundness of mind or lack of the ability to understand that prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or that releases one from criminal or civil responsibility: as a : a disease, defect, or condition of the mind that renders one unable to understand the nature of a criminal act or the fact that it is wrong or to conform one's conduct to the requirements of the law being violated b : inability to understand and participate in legal proceedings brought against one : INCOMPETENCE c : inability to understand the nature and purpose of a punishment (as the death penalty) to which one has been sentenced d : inability to understand the nature and consequences of one's acts (as making a will) or of events, matters, or proceedings in which one is involved —see also COMMITMENT, DURHAM RULE, IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE TEST, M'NAGHTEN TEST, NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY, SUBSTANTIAL CAPACITY TEST —compare CAPACITY, COMPETENCY, COMPETENT, DIMINISHED CAPACITY, SANITY
2 : the affirmative defense of having acted while insane

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: in·san·i·ty
Pronunciation: in-'san-&t-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 a : aderanged state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder (as schizophrenia) and usually excluding such states as mental retardation, psychoneurosis, and various character disorders b : a mental disorder
2 : such unsoundness of mind or lack of understanding as prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particularrelationship, status, or transaction or as removes one from criminal or civil responsibility

insanity in·san·i·ty (ĭn-sān'ĭ-tē)
n.

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

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