Crossword Dictionary
demented
adjective
Crazy; insane; mad.
Affected with dementia.
SYNONYMS
deranged, mad, maniacal, manic, psychotic, unhinged, delirious, idiotic, lunatic
EXAMPLES:
‘A brain scan showed such deterioration that the neuroradiologist said it looked like the MRI of a demented 85-year-old.’
‘Perhaps those numbers are overstated, but that’s still a lot of people willing to publicly express confidence in one of the more demented ideas that’s ever emerged.’
‘Did playing such a demented character like Dexter for so long mess with your head?’
‘It was unpleasant and discombobulating: a simulation of hostage-taking, mental asylum and demented dreamscape all rolled into one.’
round the bend
phrase
Mad.
synonyms
mad, crazy, demented, batty, nuts
examples:
‘The newspaper recently reported that the Formula One testing was sending local residents round the bend over claims the noise was ‘hellish’.’
‘The constant ‘thump-thump’ of a contractor's piledriver has been driving residents round the bend.’
‘I briefly wondered if one of his men had gone round the bend, then the penny dropped, and I realised it must be Pat come to take the sheep away.’
‘Modern communications are meant to be more efficient, yet the systems seem to have been designed to drive those who seek help round the bend.’
MAD
harebrained, insane, mad - a
very foolish; "harebrained ideas"; "took insane risks behind the wheel"; "a completely mad scheme to build a bridge between two mountains"
Synonyms
balmy, barmy [chiefly British], bats, batty, bedlam, bonkers, brainsick, bughouse [slang], certifiable, crackbrained, cracked, crackers, crackpot, cranky [dialect]
Examples
Her dreams, however mad, were never wrong.
Fitzgerald looked mad enough to take a swing.
Don't leave me here alone with that mad man on the loose!
Etymology
late 13c., "disordered in intellect, demented, crazy, insane," from Old English gemædde "out of one's mind" (usually implying also violent excitement), also "foolish, extremely stupid," earlier gemæded "rendered insane," past participle of a lost verb *gemædan "to make insane or foolish," from Proto-Germanic *gamaidjan, demonstrative form of *gamaidaz "changed (for the worse), abnormal" (source also of Old Saxon gimed "foolish," Old High German gimeit "foolish, vain, boastful," Gothic gamaiþs "crippled, wounded," Old Norse meiða "to hurt, maim").