mania
/ˈmeɪnɪə
/noun [mass noun]
1Mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions, and overactivity: many people suffering from mania do not think anything is wrong...
- When these types break down they tend to develop either hysteria or mania.
- In two striking chapters he describes an episode of acute mania and how his manic depression affects his life.
- And so what you're indicating there is that there are degrees of mania when it comes to manic depression.
Synonyms
madness, derangement, dementia, insanity, lunacy, dementedness, psychosis, schizophrenia, mental illness, delirium, frenzy, hysteria, raving, violence, wildness
1.1 [count noun] An excessive enthusiasm or desire; an obsession: he had a mania for automobiles...
- Like fashion and distinct from both fads and crazes, manias tend to develop by spreading downward through the social strata.
- Whether it is a mania for the latest hot rock star singer, or a mania to buy a financial asset, manias have truly exerted their influence for centuries.
- There will be gold rushes, booms, and manias aplenty in our future.
Synonyms
obsession, compulsion, fixation, fetish, fascination, preoccupation, passion, enthusiasm, desire, urge, craving, craze, fad, rage
informal thing, yen
rare cacoethes
Origin
Late Middle English: via late Latin from Greek, literally 'madness', from mainesthai 'be mad'.