maniac

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈmeɪniˌæk/ UK /ˈmeɪniˌæk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person behaving wildly or violently; a fanatic

He drove like a maniac through the narrow streets.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person behaving wildly or... lunatic madman fanaticpsychopathzealot fiend

Word family

Derived forms maniacal

Related forms mania maniacalmanic

Etymology

From Late Latin maniacus, from Greek maniakos, from mania ('madness, frenzy'), from mainesthai ('to rage, be mad').

maniakos Ancient Greek mania Ancient Greek *men- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

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# maniac

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmeɪniˌæk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmeɪniˌæk/

## Meanings
1. a person behaving wildly or violently; a fanatic

## Examples
- He drove like a maniac through the narrow streets.

## Synonyms
- lunatic
- madman
- fanatic
- psychopath
- zealot
- fiend

## Derived Forms
- maniacal

## Related Forms
- mania
- maniacal
- manic

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: maniakos
- Root: mania
- Root: *men-

## Etymology
From Late Latin maniacus, from Greek maniakos, from mania ('madness, frenzy'), from mainesthai ('to rage, be mad').

## AI Etymology
Maniac comes from Late Latin maniacus, from Greek maniakos, from mania ('madness, frenzy'), from mainesthai ('to rage, be mad'). The etymological trail includes Ancient Greek maniakos, Ancient Greek mania, and Proto-Indo-European *men-. As a noun, maniac means a person behaving wildly or violently; a fanatic. The same family is visible in derived forms such as maniacal and related forms such as mania, maniacal, and manic.

## Topics
- People & Society

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maniac

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