Standard Lemma guide

demented

adj · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /dɪˈmɛntɪd/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 M EH1 N T IH0 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Insane; mentally ill.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Having dementia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Crazy; ridiculous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • a demented idea

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

simple past and past participle of dement

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, participle, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

affected with madness or insanity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a man who had gone mad

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: brainsick, crazy, disturbed, mad, sick, unbalanced, unhinged

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h1 Proto-Indo-European *déh1 Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *méntis Proto-Italic *mentis Latin mēns Latin dēmēns Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Vulgar Latin dēmentōder. English dement Old English -ed ▲ Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh2tos Proto-Germanic *-ōdaz Old English -od Middle English -ed English -ed English demented Past participle of dement + -ed, from Latin dēmentāre.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَخْبُول (maḵbūl) — insane or mentally ill
  • Arabic: مَجْنُون (majnūn) — insane or mentally ill
  • Arabic: مَسْعُور (masʕūr) — insane or mentally ill
  • Bulgarian: луд (lud) — insane or mentally ill
  • Bulgarian: побъркан (pobǎrkan) — insane or mentally ill
  • Danish: afsindig — insane or mentally ill
  • Danish: vanvittig — insane or mentally ill
  • Finnish: hullu — insane or mentally ill
  • French: dément — insane or mentally ill
  • German: wahnsinnig — insane or mentally ill
  • German: verrückt — insane or mentally ill
  • Greek: παράφρων (paráfron) — insane or mentally ill
  • Greek: τρελός (trelós) — insane or mentally ill
  • Italian: demente — insane or mentally ill
  • Latin: dēmens — insane or mentally ill
  • Latin: dēmentātus — insane or mentally ill
  • Māori: wairangi — insane or mentally ill
  • Russian: сумасше́дший (sumasšédšij) — insane or mentally ill
  • Spanish: demencial — insane or mentally ill
  • Spanish: demente — insane or mentally ill
  • Vietnamese: loạn trí — insane or mentally ill
  • Bulgarian: дементен (dementen) — suffering from dementia
  • Czech: dementní — suffering from dementia
  • Danish: dement — suffering from dementia
  • Finnish: dementoitunut — suffering from dementia
  • German: dement — suffering from dementia
  • Greek: ανοϊκός (anoïkós) — suffering from dementia
  • Hebrew: דמנטי (deménti) — suffering from dementia
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dement — suffering from dementia
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: dement — suffering from dementia
  • Russian: слабоумный (slaboumnyj) — suffering from dementia
  • Spanish: demente — suffering from dementia
  • Spanish: demenciado — suffering from dementia
  • Swedish: dement — suffering from dementia