madman
madman Lexical Profile
madman Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A man who behaves in a wildly reckless, foolish, or extremely dangerous manner.
"He drove through the narrow mountain pass like a complete madman, ignoring every warning sign along the road."
A man who is severely mentally ill or insane (now chiefly historical, literary, or derogatory).
"In the Gothic novel, the mysterious figure locked in the attic is portrayed as a raving madman."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern medical and formal contexts, using 'madman' to describe someone with a psychiatric condition is considered outdated and derogatory; today, it is most commonly used hyperbolically in everyday speech to describe reckless or extreme behavior.
• Rhymes for madman
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English around the 14th century as a compound of 'mad' (from Old English 'gemædde', meaning out of one's mind or foolish) and 'man' (from Old English 'mann').