mad

/ˈmæd/

//ˈmæd// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mad" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mad” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,868) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,868
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Insane; crazy, mentally deranged.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mad · mad · English

mad · rank #1,868 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,868
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH lovely

Nearest frequency peer: lovely (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “mad”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “mad” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mad vs my
33% similar
mad vs ME
0% similar
mad vs Mr
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mad
PropertyValue
Headwordmad
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmæd/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,868
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mad” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mad lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mad is neighbouring look-alikes ("my", "ME", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /ˈmæd/. Frequency #1,868 among 4,057 “M” headwords. 10 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for mad in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "my", "ME", "Mr", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mad, madde, madd, medd, from Old English ġemǣd, ġemǣded (“enraged”), past participle of ġemǣdan, *mǣdan (“to make insane or foolish”), from Proto-Germanic *maidijaną (“to change; damage; cripple; injure; make mad”), from Proto-Germanic *… The correct English form is mad, spelled M-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Insane; crazy, mentally deranged.
  2. 2
    Angry, annoyed.
  3. 3
    Used litotically to indicate satisfaction or approval.
  4. 4
    Bizarre; incredible.
  5. 5
    Wildly confused or excited.
  6. 6
    Extremely foolish or unwise; irrational; imprudent.
  7. 7
    Extremely enthusiastic about; crazy about; infatuated with; overcome with desire for.
  8. 8
    Abnormally ferocious or furious; or, rabid, affected with rabies.
  9. 9
    Intensifier, signifying abundance or high quality of a thing; very, much or many.
  10. 10
    Having impaired polarity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mad appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You want to spend a thousand pounds on a pair of shoes? Are you mad?
  2. He's got this mad idea that he's irresistible to women.

Etymology

From Middle English mad, madde, madd, medd, from Old English ġemǣd, ġemǣded (“enraged”), past participle of ġemǣdan, *mǣdan (“to make insane or foolish”), from Proto-Germanic *maidijaną (“to change; damage; cripple; injure; make mad”), from Proto-Germanic *maidaz ("weak; crippled"; compare Old English gemād (“silly, mad”), Old High German gimeit (“foolish, crazy”), literary German gemeit (“mad, insane”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 (gamaiþs, “crippled”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ("to change"; compare Old Irish máel (“bald, dull”), Old Lithuanian ap-maitinti (“to wound”), Sanskrit मेथति (méthati, “he hurts, comes to blows”)).

Synonyms

wickedmightykindahelluvhella

This word in other languages

loco(Español)fou(Français)wahnsinnig(Deutsch)louco(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mad"?
"mad" is spelled M-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæd/.
What does "mad" mean?
As an adjective, "mad" means: Insane; crazy, mentally deranged.
What words are commonly confused with "mad"?
"mad" is commonly confused with "my", "ME", "Mr". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mad"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mad" is /ˈmæd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mad"?
From Middle English mad, madde, madd, medd, from Old English ġemǣd, ġemǣded (“enraged”), past participle of ġemǣdan, *mǣdan (“to make insane or foolish”), from Proto-Germanic *maidijaną (“to change; damage; cripple; injure; make mad”), from Proto-... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mad", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dry#1,857web#1,8832nd#1,851arm#1,887

What to do next

You've looked up "mad". Here's where to go from here.

  • "mad" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "my". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #1,868 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list