1
often offensive
: mentally unsound : insane sense 1b
—not used technically
2
sometimes offensive
: wildly odd or eccentric
His life was crowded, rather than peacefully isolated, and certainly never of an Olympian detachment, even though he was capable of quite deranged gestures of show-offy extravagance—such as buying an enormous house, more suitable for a banker than a painter …—
Robert Hughes
Robert HughesOr you could take part in a deranged computer game where you had to cycle after a huge beach ball, scoop it up and throw it through a hoop, scoring points for each goal.—Natasha Ellis
Natasha Ellis3
dated, now sometimes offensive
: disturbed or disordered in function, structure, or condition
My leg was propped up on a library chair at the time, as it was too deranged to bend.—Cynthia Gorney
Cynthia GorneyBut other work indicates that, in addition, the B lymphocytes of lupus patients are inherently deranged …—Moncef Zouali
Moncef ZoualiExamples of deranged in a Sentence
a deranged prisoner who had been in that rat-infested hole for 20 years
Recent Examples on the Web
The villains are utterly sincere and deranged, vicious and human.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 22 Oct. 2025
For the last five years, Veneziale has been transforming his family’s suburban Philadelphia home into a theatrical Halloween walk-through of deranged clowns, lurking zombies, and jumpscares galore.
—Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
Morrissey explodes the comparatively respectable conventions of prior Frankenstein adaptations by embracing the deranged erotic and fascist implications of building and breeding new life.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Lennon was shot and killed by a deranged fan outside of their Upper West Side apartment building, the Dakota.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deranged
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Brian Truitt, USA Today, 22 Oct. 2025
For the last five years, Veneziale has been transforming his family’s suburban Philadelphia home into a theatrical Halloween walk-through of deranged clowns, lurking zombies, and jumpscares galore.
—Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
Morrissey explodes the comparatively respectable conventions of prior Frankenstein adaptations by embracing the deranged erotic and fascist implications of building and breeding new life.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Lennon was shot and killed by a deranged fan outside of their Upper West Side apartment building, the Dakota.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deranged
Cite this Entry
“Deranged.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deranged. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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