sanity

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈsænɪti/ UK /ˈsænɪti/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the state of being sound in mind; reasonable and sensible judgment

A weekend in the country helped restore her sanity.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being sound in... reason rationality lucidity soundness sense mind

Opposites

insanity madness lunacy irrationality

Word family

Related forms sane sanitary sanitize

Simplified etymology

Sanity comes from Latin sanus, “healthy,” and its earliest English sense was physical health. From the early 17th century it developed its now familiar association with mental soundness, alongside sane; insane had appeared slightly earlier, in the mid-16th century.

Etymology

From Latin sanitas ('health, soundness of mind'), from sanus ('healthy, sound').

sanitas Latin sanus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# sanity

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

## Meanings
1. the state of being sound in mind; reasonable and sensible judgment

## Examples
- A weekend in the country helped restore her sanity.

## Synonyms
- reason
- rationality
- lucidity
- soundness
- sense
- mind

## Antonyms
- insanity
- madness
- lunacy
- irrationality

## Related Forms
- sane
- sanitary
- sanitize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sanitas
- Root: sanus

## Etymology
From Latin sanitas ('health, soundness of mind'), from sanus ('healthy, sound').

## AI Etymology
Sanity comes from Latin sanitas ('health, soundness of mind'), from sanus ('healthy, sound'). The historical chain includes Latin sanitas and Latin sanus. The quoted older senses, "health, soundness of mind" and "healthy, sound", supply the semantic anchors for sanity. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word sanity carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "the state of being sound in mind; reasonable and sensible judgment". Related English forms include sane, sanitary, and sanitize. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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