crazy
crazy Lexical Profile
crazy Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Mentally deranged, unstable, or acting in a wildly erratic manner.
"The prolonged isolation in the remote cabin nearly drove the explorer crazy."
Extremely foolish, impractical, or lacking in common sense.
"Attempting to hike across the desert at midday without extra water is a crazy idea."
Intensely enthusiastic, passionate, or infatuated (usually followed by 'about' or 'for').
"Our youngest daughter has been crazy about astronomy ever since she visited the planetarium."
Chaotic, hectic, or extraordinarily intense and unusual.
"The restaurant kitchen gets completely crazy on Saturday nights during the dinner rush."
• adverb
American To an extreme or extraordinary degree; exceedingly (used informally as an intensifier).
"The new software startup became crazy successful within its first six months."
• noun
An eccentric, erratic, or mentally unstable person (informal and often offensive, usually used in the plural).
"Late-night talk radio tends to attract all kinds of eccentric callers and local crazies."
Word Nuance & Usage
While extremely common in casual speech to mean 'wild,' 'foolish,' or 'enthusiastic,' using 'crazy' to describe actual mental health conditions or as a noun for a person is considered insensitive and stigmatizing in formal or clinical contexts.
• Rhymes for crazy
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 16th century from the verb 'craze' (meaning to shatter or crack) plus the suffix '-y'. It originally meant 'full of cracks or flaws' (as in damaged pottery or frail bodies) before shifting in the 17th century to describe a 'cracked' or unsound mind.