1
as in insanity
a foolish act or idea
you want to sneak into the building after the alarm is set—what lunacy!
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dementia
a serious mental disorder that prevents one from living a safe and normal life
the judge ruled that the lunacy of the accused made him incompetent to stand trial
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in madness
lack of good sense or judgment
was it desperation or lunacy that caused him to quit his job and move to California without any plan for what to do when he got there?
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lunacy
Yang is genius not just for playing the easy pickins of George Santos but high-concept lunacy like a gay oompaloompa and the iceberg that sunk the Titanic.
—
Steven Zeitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025
Rooker unsurprisingly embraces the lunacy of his character, who dresses in Native American drag and tastes bird poop to track his prey.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2025
Ultimately the inevitable showdown between Hutch and the Queen Bee that Stone embodies also works, not just for the inventive bloodletting, but also the LOL lunacy of it all.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
No Broward official ever enacted such lunacies as banning fluoride in our water.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lunacy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lunacy
Noun
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She was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2006 and was placed in a maximum-security psychiatric center in Texas, where she's resided ever since.—
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In addition, only 26% of defendants raising the insanity defense were found not guilty by reason of insanity.—
Noun
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Memory loss, cognitive decline, anxiety, sleep disruption, dementia and cardiovascular disease are all known risks of long-term alcohol use, as well as liver complications like fatty liver disease.—
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In order to fully get away with the crimes, Alice faked having dementia, so no one would ever suspect her.—
Noun
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But there was some method to the madness here, as UConn, which didn’t take a free throw in the first half, took 18 in the second half and OT.—
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Ditlevsen writes beautifully, and her sly and specific humor always manages to both undercut and deepen the madness and love in all of her books.—
Noun
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Telling the story of the clashing egos and raging idiocy of the fictional Spinal Tap, Reiner both directed and starred as the filmmaker-within-the-film Marty DiBergi.—
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Advertisement Aster keenly satirizes Joe’s idiocy in the face of social upheaval through the iconography of Westerns.—
Noun
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Your mother’s people, her father had told her ominously, on more than one occasion, are prone to hysteria.—
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The hysteria about a superior race, the insistence that all would be well if one insidious group was purged—those doctrines had been entirely defeated.—
Noun
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But the comedians also used those laughs to reveal the fundamental absurdity of violence and conflict.—
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Rather than focusing solely on superpowers, the series leans into the absurdities and insecurities of the entertainment industry, pulling back the curtain on fame, failure, and second chances.—
Noun
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Behind the classy presentation is a working-class spirit, one that honors the simplicity of showing up, being yourself and doing your job.—
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The rover’s two-wheel design reflects UEL’s emphasis on surface mobility and system simplicity.—
Noun
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Of course, no Kojima title would be complete with a little bit of craziness, but even the more far-out aspects of the game make more sense and are a thrilling part of the journey.—
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Eric had to absorb a lot of her craziness and unspent love.—
Cite this Entry
“Lunacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lunacy. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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