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Definition of maniac noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

maniac

noun
 
/ˈmeɪniæk/
 
/ˈmeɪniæk/
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  1. (informal, sometimes offensive) a person who behaves in a dangerous, violent or wild way and who you think is crazy or strange The use of the word maniac to refer to somebody who has a mental illness is offensive. synonym madman
    • He was driving like a maniac.
    • a homicidal/knife-wielding maniac
    Topics Dangerc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • sex
    • genocidal
    • homicidal
    preposition
    • like a maniac
    See full entry
  2. a person who has an extremely strong interest in or enthusiasm for something, to an extent that other people think is strange synonym fanatic
    • He's a movie maniac.
    • I love winter food because I am a soup maniac.
    see also sex maniac
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • sex
    • genocidal
    • homicidal
    preposition
    • like a maniac
    See full entry
  3. (old use, psychology) a person who has a severe mental illness, especially mania
    • the ravings of a maniac
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • sex
    • genocidal
    • homicidal
    preposition
    • like a maniac
    See full entry
  4. Word Originearly 16th cent. (as an adjective): via late Latin from late Greek maniakos, from mania ‘madness’, from mainesthai ‘be mad’.
See maniac in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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