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MAY 7, 2008 | Crazy, crazed, craze

I was watching a TV show the other day and one of the characters said something about a "crazed maniac". Is this the same as "crazy maniac"? What about the word "craze"?

Crazed and crazy are related in meaning, but they don't have exactly the same meaning. "Crazed" means "mentally deranged and/or obsessed" - For most native speakers of English, it has a very "aggressive" or "unstable" connotation to it, and that's why it's often paired ( = used) with nouns such as "maniac", "murderer", etc.

Crazy is a more general way of saying "mad", "insane", "abnormal", and is used in a variety of different situations. It doesn't have the same "aggressive" or "dangerous" connotation that the word "crazed" has. Colloquially, it is used in phrases such as "That's a crazy outfit", to mean "outlandish, bold, or strange".

A craze (n.) is a fad, something that is popular and that many people seem to be doing. EXAMPLES: "The low-carb diet craze", "The swing dancing craze", etc.

To be crazy about something means "to really like something a lot" EXAMPLES: "She's crazy about you!" (She really likes you), "I wasn't crazy about the first season of Dexter" (I didn't really like the first season), etc.

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