insane definition | Dictionary.com

in⋅sane

[in-seyn]

–adjective

1.	not sane; not of sound mind; mentally deranged.

2.	of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a person who is mentally deranged: insane actions; an insane asylum.

3.	utterly senseless: an insane plan.

Origin:
1550–60; < L insānus. See in- ³ , sane

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : insane

Spanish:

loco, demente,

German:

geisteskrank,

Japanese:

正気でない

View 30 other languages »

in·sane (ĭn-sān') Pronunciation Key
adj.

1. Of, exhibiting, or afflicted with insanity.
2. Characteristic of or associated with persons afflicted with insanity: an insane laugh; insane babbling.
3. Intended for use by such persons: an insane asylum.
Immoderate; wild: insane jealousy.
Very foolish; absurd: took insane risks behind the wheel.

[Latin īnsānus : in-, not; see in-¹ + sānus, sane, healthy.]

in·sane'ly adv., in·sane'ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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insane

1560, from L. insanus "mad, insane, outrageous, excessive, extravagant," from in- "not" + sanus (see sane). Originally only of persons; of actions, from 1842. Cf. lunatic; and It. pazzo "insane," originally a euphemism, from L. patiens "suffering." Ger. verrückt, lit. pp. of verrücken "to displace," "applied to the brain as to a clock that is 'out of order' " [Buck].

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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insane
adjective
1.	afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement; "was declared insane"; "insane laughter" [ant: sane]
2.	very foolish; "harebrained ideas"; "took insane risks behind the wheel"; "a completely mad scheme to build a bridge between two mountains" [syn: harebrained]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Insane

In*sane"\, a. [L. insanus. See In- not, and Sane.]

1. Exhibiting unsoundness or disorded of mind; not sane; mad; deranged in mind; delirious; distracted. See Insanity, 2.

2. Used by, or appropriated to, insane persons; as, an insane hospital.

3. Causing insanity or madness. [R.]

Or have we eaten on the insaneroot That takes the reason prisoner ? --Shak.

4. Characterized by insanity or the utmost folly; chimerical; unpractical; as, an insane plan, attempt, etc.

I know not which was the insane measure. --Southey.