unhinged

U1N1H4I1N1G2E1D2
UK/ʌnˈhɪndʒd/

adjective

Mentally ill or unstable; deranged; insane.

“an unhinged door”

Opposite
UncommonScrabble 13

Meanings

unhinged1

adjectiveunhinged (comparative more unhinged, superlative most unhinged)

comparative more unhinged · superlative most unhinged

  1. figurativelyhumoroususuallyMentally ill or unstable; deranged; insane.

    The revolution of 1830 and the discomforts of his private life so preyed upon his mind that his reason became unhinged, and he had to be removed to an asylum near Caen, where he died in 1834.

    1876, “Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne”, in The Encyclopædia Britannica […] , Ninth edition, Volume IV, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, page 178, column 1
    2 more examples

    After the screening, a large crowd filled the street outside the theater, playing spot-the-sublebrity with some of the film's prime characters, including Nirvana photographer Alice Wheeler and Love's estranged (and notoriously unhinged) father.

    1998, SPIN, page 78

    While ruling is going relatively well for Alicent, motherhood isn’t; her sons have both grown up to be real pieces of shit. Aemond (now played by Ewan Mitchell) has grown from a bullied child into a bullying adult; and it’s obvious from one look into his single eye that the bullied kid we met six years ago has grown up to be the most unhinged kind of sadist.

    2022 October 10, Jenna Scherer, “House Of The Dragon drops its best episode yet”, in AV Club

    Antonyms: hinged

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of unhinge

unhinged2

adjectiveunhinged (comparative more unhinged, superlative most unhinged)

comparative more unhinged · superlative most unhinged

  1. Not furnished with a hinge.

    an unhinged door

  2. hobbiesNot having ever been mounted using a stamp hinge.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveMentally ill or unstable; deranged; insane.

Opposite

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveaffected with madness or insanity

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

unhinged · adjective, verb

From unhinge + -ed.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French dérangé, déséquilibré
  • dérangémentally ill or unstable
  • déséquilibrémentally ill or unstable
  • détraquémentally ill or unstable
German verrückt, verwirrt
  • verrücktmentally ill or unstable
  • verwirrtmentally ill or unstable
  • verstörtmentally ill or unstable
  • aus der Angelnot furnished with a hinge
  • ungefalztnever been mounted using a stamp hinge
Māori wairangi
  • wairangimentally ill or unstable
Portuguese desvairado
  • desvairadomentally ill or unstable
Russian свихну́вшийся
  • свихну́вшийся (svixnúvšijsja)mentally ill or unstable
Spanish desquiciado, trastornado
  • desquiciadomentally ill or unstable
  • trastornadomentally ill or unstable
  • desencajadomentally ill or unstable
  • desquiciadonot furnished with a hinge
  • desgoznadonot furnished with a hinge
  • desencajadonot furnished with a hinge

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with unhinged

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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