compos mentis

/ˈkɒmpɒs ˈmɛntɪs/

adjective

Of sound mind, sane; thus fully accountable (legally and/or morally) for one's deeds.

Similar
of sound mindsane
Opposite
non compos mentis
OriginLatin compos →
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Meanings

adjectivecompos mentis (not comparable)
  1. not comparablelawOf sound mind, sane; thus fully accountable (legally and/or morally) for one's deeds.
    1 more example

    ‘[…] you have my hearty consent, sir, to marry the girl whensumdever it’s convenient.’ Dame Mayrose finished her speech with a low courtesy, and Tom Sponge sat like a petrified image. ‘For God’s sake, Mrs. Mayrose, are you compos mentis?’ said he. ‘Please your honour, I don’t understand no foreign languages,’ said the good woman, ‘but my darter tells me you want to make proposhalls.’

    1810, [anonymous] […], chapter XXVIII, in Splendid Follies. A Novel, […]. Founded on Facts., volume III, London: […] J[ames] F[letcher] Hughes, […], →OCLC, pages 112–113

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
non compos mentis

adjectiveof sound mind, memory, and understanding; in law, competent to go to trial

Similar
of sound mindsane
Also see
sane

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latincompos“in control, having mastery”
  2. Englishcompos mentis

From Latin compos (“in control, having mastery”) + mentis (“of mind”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic عاقِل
  • عاقِل (ʕāqil)of sound mind
Dutch toerekenbaar, toerekeningsvatbaar
  • toerekenbaarof sound mind
  • toerekeningsvatbaarof sound mind
Finnish syyntakeinen, täydessä ymmärryksessä
  • syyntakeinenof sound mind
  • täydessä ymmärryksessäof sound mind
German zurechnungsfähig, schuldfähig
  • zurechnungsfähigof sound mind
  • schuldfähigof sound mind
  • compos mentisof sound mind
Indonesian compos mentis, bertanggung jawab
  • compos mentisof sound mind
  • bertanggung jawabof sound mind
  • dengan sadarof sound mind
Polish poczytalny
  • poczytalnyof sound mind
Swedish tillräknelig
  • tillräkneligof sound mind
Cite this entry
APA

compos mentis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compos%20mentis

MLA

“compos mentis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compos%20mentis. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “compos mentis,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compos%20mentis.

Source: compos mentis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.