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madman

/ˈmædmæn/

/ˈmædmæn/

IPA guide

Other forms: madmen

Madman is an old fashioned, derogatory term for a severely mentally ill person. These days, calling someone with a serious psychiatric illness a madman would be offensive.

You're most likely to hear dangerous criminals described as madmen, although it's also common to use this word for someone who acts recklessly: "Look how fast that madman is driving!" Another way to use madman is to emphasize the intensity of something: "She worked on that paper like a madman, writing the entire thing in just a few hours."

Definitions of madman
  1. noun
    an insane person
    synonyms: lunatic, maniac
    see moresee less
    types:
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    crazy, looney, loony, nutcase, weirdo
    someone deranged and possibly dangerous
    bedlamite
    an archaic term for a lunatic
    pyromaniac
    a person with a mania for setting things on fire
    madwoman
    a woman lunatic
    type of:
    diseased person, sick person, sufferer
    a person suffering from an illness
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