Crazy
adjectiveWildly foolish, irrational, or unreasonable; or informally very enthusiastic about something.
How to spell crazy
5 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce crazy
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does crazy mean?
- adjectiveWildly foolish, irrational, or unreasonable; or informally very enthusiastic about something.
Crazy in a sentence
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Spending the whole budget on one client seemed crazy to the board.
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The kids are absolutely crazy about that new video game.
Where does crazy come from?
Language of origin: Old Norse
Crazy comes from the verb 'craze', which entered Middle English in the 1300s and originally meant 'to crack, shatter, or break into pieces'. That verb is probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse 'krasa', meaning 'to shatter', and it still survives in pottery, where 'crazing' describes a network of fine cracks in glaze. By the 1570s 'crazy' had moved from describing physically cracked or broken objects to describing a mind that seemed broken or unsound. From there it softened over the centuries into the everyday senses of 'foolish', 'wildly enthusiastic', or simply 'remarkable'. The straightforward spelling is rarely a trap, though the silent shift from craze to crazy reminds writers that the final 'e' drops before the 'y'.
How the word is built
- craze (to crack, shatter)
- -y (adjective suffix)
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