craze
craze Lexical Profile
craze Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A widespread, enthusiastic, and usually short-lived interest in a particular activity, fashion, or object.
"The hula-hoop craze swept across the country in the late 1950s."
A network of fine, hairline cracks on the surface or glaze of pottery, glass, or plastic.
"After years of exposure to heat and moisture, a delicate craze appeared across the glaze of the antique porcelain vase."
• verb
To develop or cause to develop a network of fine, hairline cracks on a surface or glaze (especially of pottery, glass, or plastic).
"Sudden temperature changes can cause the ceramic glaze to craze over time."
To make someone wildly insane, frantic, or irrational (most commonly used in the past participle).
"The stray dog was crazed with hunger and fear after days in the storm."
• Rhymes for craze
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English crasen ('to break into pieces, crack, or shatter'), probably borrowed from Old Norse via Old French crasir. The literal sense of cracking survives in ceramics and material science, while the figurative sense of a 'cracked' mind gave rise to both 'crazy' and a wild, passing fad.