insane
part of speech
adjective (insane, more insane)
meaning for a pupil
1) (old or offensive when used of people) Seriously mentally ill; today doctors use «mental illness» instead. tree →
2) (informal) Very foolish or crazy, as in «That's an insane idea». tree →
3) (slang) Amazing or extreme, as in «That goal was insane!» tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday and slang talk pupils hear it for something amazing or wild: «The rollercoaster was insane!» In stories it may describe a mad plan. Using it about people with real mental illness is hurtful, so pupils learn kinder words. Phrases: drive someone insane (annoy a lot), an insane amount of.
examples
- That skateboard trick was insane! (slang) tree →
- It would be insane to swim in that storm. tree →
- This homework is driving me insane. tree →
- There was an insane amount of traffic. tree →
- The price of those trainers is insane. tree →
- Old books called people with mental illness «insane», but today we say «mentally ill». tree →
- I do the most insane things I possibly can, and then I tell a poet about it, and thus the whole town gets to know of it directly." tree →
note
Opposite: sane. Noun: insanity. Be careful: calling a person «insane» can be rude and hurtful. In slang it is a strong word of praise, not about illness. «An insane amount» does not give a number.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «insane» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.