mania

Pronunciation: /ˈmeɪ.ni.ə/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

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

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mania, from Ancient Greek μανία (manía, “madness”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

passion, cacoethes

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
irrational motive
Narrower (hyponyms)
necrophilia, monomania, pyromania, phaneromania, kleptomania, dipsomania

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