lunatic
Other forms: lunatics
A lunatic is someone who is either clinically insane or just acting really crazy. Someone driving too fast and zigging in and out of traffic is driving like a lunatic.
The root of this word is luna, which means moon. That's because lunatic originally meant someone who went crazy with every phase of the moon, kind of like a werewolf. Most people these days don't believe in moon-caused insanity, but we still talk about lunatics, sometimes meaning clinically insane people. More often this is a slang term, used mainly in exaggerations, for anyone who seems wild and out of control.
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an insane persontypes:bedlamitean archaic term for a lunaticpyromaniaca person with a mania for setting things on firemadwomana woman lunatictype of:
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a reckless impetuous irresponsible personsynonyms: daredevil, harum-scarum, hothead, madcap, swashbucklertypes:tearawaya reckless and impetuous persontype of:
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insane and believed to be affected by the phases of the moonsynonyms: moonstruckinsaneafflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement
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Vocabulary lists containing lunatic
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