mad·ness

[mad-nis]
noun
1.
the state of being mad; insanity.
2.
senseless folly: It is sheer madness to speak as you do.
3.
frenzy; rage.
4.
intense excitement or enthusiasm.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English madnesse. See mad, -ness

pre·mad·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To madness
00:10
Madness is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
madness (ˈmædnɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  insanity; lunacy
2.  extreme anger, excitement, or foolishness
3.  a nontechnical word for rabies

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

madness
late 14c., from mad + -ness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

madness mad·ness (mād'nĭs)
n.
The quality or condition of being insane.

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

Madness definition


This word is used in its proper sense in Deut. 28:34, John 10:20, 1 Cor. 14:23. It also denotes a reckless state of mind arising from various causes, as over-study (Eccl. 1:17; 2:12), blind rage (Luke 6:11), or a depraved temper (Eccl. 7:25; 9:3; 2 Pet. 2:16). David feigned madness (1 Sam. 21:13) at Gath because he "was sore afraid of Achish."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

madness

see method in one's madness.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Investors--the people who bought the mortgage backed securities--participated
  in much the same madness.
So another narrative began to emerge, of a rarer form of madness.
The market's remarkable rise comes with enough caveats to suggest it is priced
  as much by madness as by reason.
Dreams may be temporary flights into madness that, by some law of
  neurophysiology unclear to us, keep us from actual madness.
Idioms & Phrases
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