maniac

ma·ni·ac
M3A1N1I1A1C3
US, UK/ˈmeɪ.niˌæk/

noun

An insane person, especially one who suffers from a mania.

“He's a manga maniac.”

Less commonScrabble 10

Meanings

nounmaniac (plural maniacs)

plural maniacs · alternative obsolete maniack

  1. An insane person, especially one who suffers from a mania.

    She was driving like a maniac.

    3 more examples

    In these early days of silent pictures, the accent was chiefly on thrills and danger as provided by supposedly unstoppable locomotives with crooks or maniacs on the footplate.

    1958 February 28, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 88

    Hey kids, the word of the week is "pupaphobia"! Others may enjoy being frightened by chainsaw-wielding maniacs and cannibal clowns, but my Halloween is never complete without a murderous Muppet or two. Thankfully, a pair of events last Friday the 13th provided a perfect double feature of puppet perversity.

    2017 October 18, Seth Kubersky, “A weekend full of puppetry-themed entertainment is just the ticket, unless you’re pupaphobic”, in Orlando Weekly

    “It gives me the dithers, thinking of the damage that maniac could do if he ever took the headship. He could reinstate the cycle of chosen births, or enact any of a hundred other terrible laws.”

    2017, J. C. Staudt, Children of the Wastes
  2. figurativelyA fanatic, a person with an obsession.

    He's a manga maniac.

    1 more example

    She's a maniac, maniac on the floor / And she's dancing like she's never danced before

    1983, Michael Sembello, Dennis Matkosky, “Maniac”
  3. PhilippinesabbreviationellipsisEllipsis of sex maniac.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar

adjectivewildly disordered

nounan insane person

Similar
Broader
sick persondiseased personsufferer

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*men-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mn̥yétor
  3. Proto-Hellenic*məňňómai
  4. Ancient Greekμαίνομαι (maínomai)
  5. Ancient Greekμᾰνῐ́ᾱ (mănĭ́ā)
  6. Ancient Greekμανιακός (maniakós)
  7. Late Latinmaniacu
  8. Frenchmaniaque
  9. Englishmaniac

From mania + -ac. Borrowed from French maniaque, from Late Latin maniacus, from Ancient Greek μανιακός (maniakós), adjectival form of μανία (manía, “madness”). Compare manic.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مَهْوُوس, مَهْوُوسَة
  • مَهْوُوس (mahwūs)insane person
  • مَهْوُوسَة (mahwūsa)insane person
  • مَمْسُوس (mamsūs)insane person
  • مَمْسُوسَة (mamsūsa)insane person
Bulgarian маниа́к
  • маниа́к (maniák)insane person
Catalan maníac, maniàtic
  • maníacinsane person
  • maniàticfanatic, obsessive
Chinese Mandarin 瘋子 /疯子, 狂人
  • 瘋子 /疯子 (fēngzi)insane person
  • 狂人 (kuángrén)insane person
  • 狂熱分子 /狂热分子 (kuángrè fènzǐ)fanatic, obsessive
  • -迷 (-mí)fanatic, obsessive
Czech maniak, maniak
  • maniakinsane person
  • maniakfanatic, obsessive
Dutch maniak, waanzinnige
  • maniakinsane person
  • waanzinnigeinsane person
  • dollemaninsane person
  • maniakfanatic, obsessive
Esperanto maniulo
  • maniuloinsane person
Finnish maanikko, fanaatikko
  • maanikkoinsane person
  • fanaatikkofanatic, obsessive
  • kiihkoilijafanatic, obsessive
French maniaque, maniaque
  • maniaqueinsane person
  • maniaquefanatic, obsessive
  • cingléfanatic, obsessive
  • cingléefanatic, obsessive
German Irrer, Irre
  • Irrerinsane person
  • Irreinsane person
  • Verrückterfanatic, obsessive
  • Verrücktefanatic, obsessive
Greek μανιακός, μανιακός
  • μανιακός (maniakós)insane person
  • μανιακός (maniakós)fanatic, obsessive
Hebrew משוגע \ מְשֻׁגָּע, מַנְיַאק
  • משוגע \ מְשֻׁגָּע (m'shugá)insane person
  • מַנְיַאק (man'iyak)insane person
  • מַנְיַאק (man'iyak)fanatic, obsessive
Hungarian -mániás, -őrült
  • -mániásfanatic, obsessive
  • -őrültfanatic, obsessive
  • -bolondfanatic, obsessive
Italian maniaco, maniaco
  • maniacoinsane person
  • maniacofanatic, obsessive
Japanese 狂人, マニアック
  • 狂人 (kyōjin)insane person
  • マニアック (maniakku)fanatic, obsessive
Korean 광인, 미치광이
  • 광인 (gwang'in)insane person
  • 미치광이 (michigwang'i)insane person
  • 매니악 (maeniak)fanatic, obsessive
Polish maniak, maniaczka
  • maniakinsane person
  • maniaczkainsane person
  • maniakfanatic, obsessive
  • maniaczkafanatic, obsessive
Portuguese maníaco, maníaco
  • maníacoinsane person
  • maníacofanatic, obsessive
Romanian maniac
  • maniacinsane person
Russian манья́к, манья́чка
  • манья́к (manʹják)insane person
  • манья́чка (manʹjáčka)insane person
  • манья́к (manʹják)fanatic, obsessive
  • манья́чка (manʹjáčka)fanatic, obsessive
Slovak maniak
  • maniakinsane person
Spanish maníaco, maniaco
  • maníacoinsane person
  • maniacoinsane person
  • maniáticofanatic, obsessive
Swedish maniker
  • manikerinsane person
Turkish manyak
  • manyakinsane person
Ukrainian манія́к, манія́чка
  • манія́к (maniják)insane person
  • манія́чка (manijáčka)insane person

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with maniac

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

maniac. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maniac

MLA

“maniac.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maniac. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maniac,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maniac.

Source: maniac on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.