Demented vs Mad - What's the difference?
demented | mad |
Insane or mentally ill.
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Suffering from dementia.
Crazy; ridiculous.
(dement)
Insane; crazy, mentally deranged.
* Shakespeare
Angry, annoyed.
* , chapter=6
, title= Wildly confused or excited.
* Bible, Jer. 1. 88
* 1787: The Fair Syrian, R. Bage,
Extremely foolish or unwise; irrational; imprudent.
Extremely enthusiastic about; crazy about; infatuated with; overcome with desire for.
(of animals) Abnormally ferocious or furious; or, rabid, affected with rabies.
(slang, chiefly Northeastern US) Intensifier, signifies an abundance or high quality of a thing; , much or many.
(of a compass needle) Having impaired polarity.
(slang, New England, New York, and, UK, dialect) Intensifier; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly; very; unbelievably.
To madden, to anger, to frustrate.
* c''. 1595 , (William Shakespeare), '' , Act V Scene 5:
*, I.2.4.iv:
Mad is a synonym of demented.
As adjectives the difference between demented and mad
is that demented is insane or mentally ill while mad is insane; crazy, mentally deranged.As verbs the difference between demented and mad
is that demented is past tense of dement while mad is to madden, to anger, to frustrate.As an adverb mad is
intensifier; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly; very; unbelievably.As an acronym MAD is
mutually assured destruction.demented
English
Adjective
(en adjective)citation, page= , passage=So while Ralph generally seems to inhabit a different, more glorious and joyful universe than everyone else here his yearning and heartbreak are eminently relateable. Ralph sometimes appears to be a magically demented sprite who has assumed the form of a boy, but he’s never been more poignantly, nakedly, movingly human than he is here.}}
- a demented idea
Verb
(head)mad
English
Adjective
(madder)- I have heard my grandsire say full oft, / Extremity of griefs would make men mad .
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man.}}
- to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred
- It is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
p.314
- My brother, quiet as a cat, seems perfectly contented with the internal feelings of his felicity. The Marquis, mad as a kitten, is all in motion to express it, from tongue to heel.
Usage notes
While within the United States and Canada, the word mad'' ''does'' generally imply ''anger'' rather than insanity, such usage is still considered informal. Furthermore, if one is described as having "gone mad" or "went mad", this will unquestionably be taken as denoting ''insanity''''', and not anger. Meanwhile, if one "is mad at" something or has "been mad about" something, it will be assumed that they are '''''angered'' rather than insane. In addition, if the word is understood as being used literally, it will most likely be taken as meaning "insane". Also, in addition to the former, such derivatives as "madness", "madman", "madhouse" and "madly" ''purely denote insanity, irrespective of whether one is in the Commonwealth or in the United States. Lastly, within Commonwealth countries other than Canada, mad'' typically implies the ''insane'' or ''crazy'' sense more so than the ''angry sense.Synonyms
* (insane) See also * (angry) See also * wicked, mighty, kinda, , hella.Adverb
(-)- He was driving mad slow.
- It's mad hot today.
- He seems mad keen on her.
Synonyms
* hella; helluv;Derived terms
* mad as a hatter * madden * madding * madhouse * madlyVerb
(madd)- This musick mads me, let it sound no more.
- He that mads others, if he were so humoured, would be as mad himself, as much grieved and tormented […].