noun
Meaning 1
An insane person, especially one who suffers from a mania.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- She was driving like a maniac.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
maniac
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.
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General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmeɪ.niˌæk/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -eɪniæk
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CMU ARPABET: M EY1 N IY0 AE2 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A fanatic, a person with an obsession.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
Examples
- He's a manga maniac.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Ellipsis of sex maniac.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Philippines, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
an insane person
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: lunatic, madman
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sick person, diseased person, sufferer
Narrower terms: crazy, loony, looney, nutcase, weirdo, bedlamite, pyromaniac, madwoman
noun
Meaning 5
a person who has an obsession with or excessive enthusiasm for something
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: fancier, enthusiast
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *mn̥yétorder. Proto-Hellenic *məňňómai Ancient Greek μαίνομαι (maínomai) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek μανίᾱ (maníā) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ακός (-akós) Ancient Greek μανιακός (maniakós)bor. Late Latin maniacuslbor. French maniaquebor. English maniac From mania + -ac. Borrowed from French maniaque, from Late Latin maniacus, from Ancient Greek μανιακός (maniakós), adjectival form of μανία (manía, “madness”). Compare manic.
Across languages
Translations
83 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: مَهْوُوس (mahwūs) — insane person
- Arabic: مَهْوُوسَة (mahwūsa) — insane person
- Arabic: مَمْسُوس (mamsūs) — insane person
- Arabic: مَمْسُوسَة (mamsūsa) — insane person
- Armenian: մոլագար (molagar) — insane person
- Armenian: մանյակ (manyak) — insane person
- Belarusian: манья́к (manʹják) — insane person
- Belarusian: манья́чка (manʹjáčka) — insane person
- Bulgarian: маниа́к (maniák) — insane person
- Catalan: maníac — insane person
- Chinese Mandarin: 瘋子 /疯子 (fēngzi) — insane person
- Chinese Mandarin: 狂人 (kuángrén) — insane person
- Czech: maniak — insane person
- Dutch: maniak — insane person
- Dutch: waanzinnige — insane person
- Dutch: dolleman — insane person
- Esperanto: maniulo — insane person
- Finnish: maanikko — insane person
- French: maniaque — insane person
- Galician: maníaco — insane person
- Galician: maniático — insane person
- Galician: obseso — insane person
- Georgian: მანიაკი (maniaḳi) — insane person
- German: Irrer — insane person
- German: Irre — insane person
- Greek: μανιακός (maniakós) — insane person
- Hebrew: משוגע \ מְשֻׁגָּע (m'shugá) — insane person
- Hebrew: מַנְיַאק (man'iyak) — insane person
- Italian: maniaco — insane person
- Japanese: 狂人 (kyōjin) — insane person
- Kikuyu: mũgũrũki — insane person
- Korean: 광인 (gwang'in) — insane person
- Korean: 미치광이 (michigwang'i) — insane person
- Macedonian: манијак (manijak) — insane person
- Iranian Persian: دیوانِه (divâne) — insane person
- Iranian Persian: اُسْکُل (oskol) — insane person
- Polish: maniak — insane person
- Polish: maniaczka — insane person
- Portuguese: maníaco — insane person
- Romanian: maniac — insane person
- Russian: манья́к (manʹják) — insane person
- Russian: манья́чка (manʹjáčka) — insane person
- Serbo-Croatian: ма̀нија̄к — insane person
- Serbo-Croatian: mànijāk — insane person
- Slovak: maniak — insane person
- Slovene: manijak — insane person
- Spanish: maníaco — insane person
- Spanish: maniaco — insane person
- Swedish: maniker — insane person
- Turkish: manyak — insane person
- Ukrainian: манія́к (maniják) — insane person
- Ukrainian: манія́чка (manijáčka) — insane person
- Armenian: մոլագար (molagar) — fanatic, obsessive
- Armenian: մանյակ (manyak) — fanatic, obsessive
- Catalan: maniàtic — fanatic, obsessive
- Chinese Mandarin: 狂熱分子 /狂热分子 (kuángrè fènzǐ) — fanatic, obsessive
- Chinese Mandarin: -迷 (-mí) — fanatic, obsessive
- Czech: maniak — fanatic, obsessive
- Dutch: maniak — fanatic, obsessive
- Finnish: fanaatikko — fanatic, obsessive
- Finnish: kiihkoilija — fanatic, obsessive
- French: maniaque — fanatic, obsessive
- French: cinglé — fanatic, obsessive
- French: cinglée — fanatic, obsessive
- Galician: maníaco — fanatic, obsessive
- Galician: maniático — fanatic, obsessive
- Galician: obseso — fanatic, obsessive
- German: Verrückter — fanatic, obsessive
- German: Verrückte — fanatic, obsessive
- Greek: μανιακός (maniakós) — fanatic, obsessive
- Hebrew: מַנְיַאק (man'iyak) — fanatic, obsessive
- Hungarian: -mániás — fanatic, obsessive
- Hungarian: -őrült — fanatic, obsessive
- Hungarian: -bolond — fanatic, obsessive
- Italian: maniaco — fanatic, obsessive
- Japanese: マニアック (maniakku) — fanatic, obsessive
- Korean: 매니악 (maeniak) — fanatic, obsessive
- Polish: maniak — fanatic, obsessive
- Polish: maniaczka — fanatic, obsessive
- Portuguese: maníaco — fanatic, obsessive
- Russian: манья́к (manʹják) — fanatic, obsessive
- Russian: манья́чка (manʹjáčka) — fanatic, obsessive
- Spanish: maniático — fanatic, obsessive