In modern usage, insanity may be found in both senses: you may tell your brother that trying to skateboard while holding onto a car is "insanity" (in which case you mean that it is extremely foolish) or encounter the stricter original meaning in such contexts as insanity plea.

Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other people.

Jul 27, 2009 · Insanity is a concept discussed in court to help distinguish guilt from innocence. It's informed by mental health professionals, but the term today is primarily legal, not psychological.

Contrary to popular belief, insanity isn't defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And, while it is often used to describe certain states of mind, insanity is also not a medical condition.

INSANITY definition: 1. a very stupid, unreasonable, or dangerous action or situation: 2. the condition of being very…. Learn more.

The condition of being insane; a state of mind that impedes the ability to think, reason, or behave in ways that are considered normal, esp. one caused by mental illness. Also in extended use.

Trying to drive through that traffic would be pure insanity. a foolish or senseless action, policy, statement, etc.: We've heard decades of insanities in our political discourse.

Insanity is an ongoing state of extreme mental illness, which may cause abnormal or antisocial behaviors. If you bark at cats and meow at dogs, you might suffer from insanity. The noun insanity originates from the Latin word insanitatem, meaning "unhealthfulness" relating to the mind.

Nov 15, 2023 · Whether a person is insane, in this legal sense, is determined by judges and juries, not psychologists or psychiatrists. Numerous legal standards for determining criminal responsibility, the central issue in an insanity defense, have …

If you describe a decision or an action as insanity, you think it is very foolish. [ disapproval ] It was a period of collective insanity, of legalized murder and mayhem.