INSANITY Synonyms: 123 Similar and Opposite Words

insanity

noun

in-ˈsa-nə-tē

Definition of insanity

as in dementia

a serious mental disorder that prevents one from living a safe and normal life his incurable insanity requires that he spend the rest of his life in a mental hospital

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in absurdity

a foolish act or idea everyone laughed at the latest insanity from the town eccentric

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in madness

lack of good sense or judgment had the insanity to think that taking over a government building in protest of our foreign policy was a good idea

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of insanity Counsel was enraged that his gambit was foiled by one jury holdout on the insanity argument. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026 Prosecutors questioned the schizophrenia diagnosis and pointed out that suffering from mental illness is not the same as meeting the legal standard of insanity. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Staging a movie of broad scolding maximalism isn’t the same thing as staging a movie of debonair satirical insanity. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026 Since the trial ended, various statements given to the media from jurors have indicated that the jury was hung 11-1 in favor of not guilty by reason of insanity. — Kristina Rex, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for insanity

Recent Examples of Synonyms for insanity

Noun

Years passed before doctors solved the mystery, first attributing the behavioral changes to frontotemporal dementia (FTD), then linking that rare condition to a genetic mutation.

— The Week US, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026
Eleven months later, his family had a more specific diagnosis, frontotemporal dementia.

— Sam Kashner, Vanity Fair, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of dementia

Noun

Early on, Sakurai exploits the inherent absurdity of telling a story populated by so many ludicrous characters.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Unlike Gregor Samsa who is confined to his room after transforming into a huge insect, the protagonist still has to go to work, a dark and bleak absurdity that lays bare the alienation, isolation, and hypocrisy of modern life.

— Deadline, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of absurdity

Noun

Set in 1959, the episode weaves the lie of female hysteria, misogyny, Cold War fears and pharmaceutical greed into one tremendous installment.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Russell turned the story into an extravagant examination of religious hysteria and political power, with stark white sets by Derek Jarman and an avant-garde score by Peter Maxwell Davies.

— Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of hysteria

Noun

Learning that countless more people will lose their lives on account of his neglect, greed, and stupidity, he is pressed, reluctantly, into a most self-serving mode of damage control.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Nerdiest song for drummers This will probably come down to stupidity.

— Devon Ivie, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of stupidity

Noun

Cabello-Ynocente's sister-in-law stated that Farfan-Cabello suffers from schizophrenia and that the family was devastated to learn what happened.

— Bri Buckley, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
The Food and Drug Administration flagged a potential safety signal after four deaths were reported among patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia who received investigational evenamide in clinical trials, MedPage Today informs us.

— Ed Silverman, STAT, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of schizophrenia

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insanities

insanity

insatiable

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“Insanity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insanity. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of insanity

noun

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