adjective
mad
Mentally ill, in dated or offensive usage
The old novel describes the troubled king as mad.
Etymology
The Old English adjective already included the idea of an unsound mind. This historical sense survives in usage now often regarded as imprecise, dated, or offensive.
More examples
- People once called mentally ill patients mad.
- The play uses mad in its older psychiatric sense.
- Calling a patient mad is now considered offensive.
Forms
mad · madder · maddest
Similar words
- insane
- A stronger, often offensive term; mad is regional or dated here.