derangement

Mind gone awry

Derangement is a state of mental disorder or disturbance—a mind thrown into chaos.

The word carries an old-fashioned, almost literary quality: The isolation led to his complete derangement.

More broadly, derangement describes any severe disruption of normal function or order: the derangement of the body's systems, the derangement of society.

The adjective deranged appears more often than the noun.

insanity

madness

Mental derangement or folly

lunacyExtreme irrational foolishness
psychosisSevere reality detachment
maniaIntense, consuming obsession

delirium · dementia · paranoia · hysteria · delusion · craziness · irrationality · unhinged · mental · breakdown

disorder

disarray

Lack of order

disorganizationAbsence of systematic arrangement
confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
muddleDisordered, bewildered state

jumble · tangle · mess · clutter · dishevelment · scramble · hodgepodge · snarl · entanglement · misalignment

chaos

pandemonium

State of utter confusion

bedlamState of wild disorder
mayhemViolent disorder and destruction
havocWidespread destruction and chaos

tumult · turmoil · upheaval · anarchy · frenzy · uproar · commotion · riot · maelstrom · shambles

derangement

madness

disarray

pandemonium

derangement

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