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maniac

noun

Simple meaning

Someone who has an obsession with or excessive enthusiasm for something.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mayneeak

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmeɪniæk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A person who has an obsession with or excessive enthusiasm for something

  2. figurative

    A fanatic, a person with an obsession.

  3. An insane person, especially one who suffers from a mania.

  4. philippines

    Ellipsis of sex maniac.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A person who has an obsession with or excessive enthusiasm for something

In this sense, maniac is a very strong, expressive word and usually reads as a strong judgement about someone's behaviour or state of mind. In casual exaggeration — a fitness maniac, driving like a maniac — it can sound playful or admiring, but it still carries far more force than simply saying someone is keen.

Emotional tone
Context-dependent
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Very strong
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Critical or judgemental
Usage feel
Everyday but emotionally strong

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

sex maniacraving maniacsome maniacreligious maniacpoor maniacsexual maniacdangerous maniac

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.