craziness

[ krey-zee-nis ]

noun

1. the state or condition of being mentally deranged; madness:

   Thinking you can handle everything in life by yourself is itself a kind of craziness.

   The long, dark Arctic winter produced a kind of craziness in him.

2. Informal. the state or quality of being wildly busy, hectic, chaotic, etc.:

   Now that the Christmas craziness is over, I'm finally getting back to writing my blog.

3. Informal. an unpredictable, nonconforming, or odd quality; eccentricity:

   Dave is perfect for me—he understands me, laughs with me, and loves me in spite of my craziness.

4. Informal. a bizarre or random quality, or something having this quality:

   Shooting this movie we got away with a lot of improv and craziness and stuff that didn't have to fit or have much meaning behind it.

5. Informal. a rash, silly, or unsound quality, or behavior, ideas, etc., of this kind:

   He argued against the craziness of changing the clocks every fall, making late afternoon even more dangerous for children coming home from school.

6. Informal. intense or excessive emotion about someone or something; enthusiasm, infatuation, alarm, frustration, etc. (usually followed by about, for, or over ):

   His craziness about her is based solely on her beauty.

   I expect the switchboards to be lit up with people's craziness over this issue.

Word History and Origins

Origin of craziness¹

First recorded in 1610–20; crazy ( def ) + -ness ( def )

Example Sentences

That’s because the case brings together two muddy legal regimes: copyright law, which is renowned for its craziness and confusion; and AI law, which may be years away from coalescing into coherence.

From Los Angeles Times

“So our name is” associated with “the overdoses and all the craziness that goes on down there.”

From Los Angeles Times

The craziness began with the $700-million offseason acquisition of Ohtani, a presence so big he immediately overshadowed the entire organization and threatened to eclipse Roberts’ influence, as evidenced by his introductory news conference.

From Los Angeles Times

Ryder, meanwhile, offsets the craziness around her with mostly muted reactions and a “take it as it comes” grit.

From Salon

And I can’t wait to see it again, in all its radical craziness.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• absurdity
• idiocy
• insanity
• lunacy
• madness
• nonsense
• nuttiness
• silliness