insanity
/ɪnˈsænɪti/noun
insanity is spelled I-N-S-A-N-I-T-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, insanity means “The state of being insane; madness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of insanity is insanities.
How many letters and syllables are in insanity?
| Letters | 8: I-N-S-A-N-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.2 times per million words; the 10,843rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is insanity?
Insanity appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce insanity?
- US /ɪnˈsænɪti/
Insanity has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-insanity.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with insanity?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as insanity from its last stressed vowel (/ænɪti/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of insanity
- insanities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does insanity mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being insane; madness.
The defendant pleaded insanity in the hope of getting a reduced sentence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Insanity in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense state of being insane:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | folie |
| German | Wahnsinn, Verrücktheit |
| Portuguese | insanidade, loucura |
| Spanish | locura, insania, vesania |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does insanity come from?
A three-part word (root 'sane', prefix 'in-' meaning 'not', suffix '-ity', meaning 'the state of'). Derived from Latin precursory equivalents.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).