Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An excessively intense enthusiasm, interest, or desire.
  • noun Psychiatry A manifestation of bipolar disorder, marked usually by high energy, racing thoughts, irritability, and rapid speech.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any form or phase of insanity with exaltation of spirits and rapidity of mental action; specifically, a psychoneurosis with these as the fundamental features.
  • noun An eager, uncontrolled, or uncontrollable desire: as, a mania for drink; in colloquial use, a “rage” or craze for something: as, a mania for first editions.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity. Cf. delirium.
  • noun Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people.
  • noun madness from drinking; delirium tremens.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity.
  • noun Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people; fanaticism

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a mood disorder; an affective disorder in which the victim tends to respond excessively and sometimes violently
  • noun an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, madness, from Late Latin, from Greek maniā; see men- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin mania, from Ancient Greek μανία (mania, "madness").

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