maniacal
adjective
ma·ni·a·cal
mə-ˈnī-ə-kəl 
variants
or less commonly maniac
1
: affected with or suggestive of madness
maniacal laughter
maniacal energy
a maniacal killer
2
: characterized by ungovernable excitement or frenzy : frantic
a maniacal mob
maniacal fans
Synonyms
- balmy
- barmy [chiefly British]
- bats
- batty
- bedlam
- bonkers
- brainsick
- bughouse [slang]
- certifiable
- crackbrained
- cracked
- crackers
- crackpot
- cranky [dialect]
- crazed
- crazy
- cuckoo
- daffy
- daft
- demented
- deranged
- fruity [slang]
- gaga
- haywire
- insane
- kooky
- kookie
- loco [slang]
- loony
- looney
- loony tunes
- looney tunes
- lunatic
- mad
- mental
- meshuga
- meshugge
- meshugah
- meshuggah
- moonstruck
- non compos mentis
- nuts
- nutty
- psycho
- psychotic
- scatty [chiefly British]
- screwy
- unbalanced
- unhinged
- unsound
- wacko
- whacko
- wacky
- whacky
- wud [chiefly Scottish]
Examples of maniacal in a Sentence
the movie's villain was a just a clichéd axe-wielding nutcase with a maniacal laugh
Recent Examples on the Web
Hoffman continues his maniacal rampage in Saw VI, which picks up just days after the events of Saw V. This time around, the main victim is an insurance broker who denied coverage to Jigsaw during his cancer battle.
—
Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 1 June 2024
Only a maniacal analog devotee like Jack White could find the time and wherewithal to open a plant like his Third Man Pressing in Detroit.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Tesla’s workforce already has endured dramatic transformation the last few years — the onetime Silicon Valley upstart with a maniacal vision on clean energy is now concentrated in Texas and fixated on other undertakings, including artificial intelligence and robots.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 20 May 2024
MacFarlane, who performed many of the characters (including the hapless Peter, the maniacal baby Stewie and the erudite dog Brian), was joined by Alex Borstein (as faithful wife Lois), Seth Green (socially maladroit son Chris) and Mila Kunis (perpetually scapegoated daughter Meg).
—Dave Itzkoff, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for maniacal 
Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 1 June 2024
Only a maniacal analog devotee like Jack White could find the time and wherewithal to open a plant like his Third Man Pressing in Detroit.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Tesla’s workforce already has endured dramatic transformation the last few years — the onetime Silicon Valley upstart with a maniacal vision on clean energy is now concentrated in Texas and fixated on other undertakings, including artificial intelligence and robots.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 20 May 2024
MacFarlane, who performed many of the characters (including the hapless Peter, the maniacal baby Stewie and the erudite dog Brian), was joined by Alex Borstein (as faithful wife Lois), Seth Green (socially maladroit son Chris) and Mila Kunis (perpetually scapegoated daughter Meg).
—Dave Itzkoff, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for maniacal
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maniacal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Maniacal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maniacal. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
maniacal
adjective
ma·ni·a·cal
mə-ˈnī-ə-kəl
variants
also maniac
: affected with or suggestive of madness
Medical Definition
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