like mad
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Mad \Mad\, a. [Compar. {Madder}; superl. {Maddest}.] [AS. gem?d,
gem[=a]d, mad; akin to OS. gem?d foolish, OHG. gameit, Icel.
mei?a to hurt, Goth. gam['a]ids weak, broken. ?.]
1. Disordered in intellect; crazy; insane.
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I have heard my grandsire say full oft,
Extremity of griefs would make men mad. --Shak.
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2. Excited beyond self-control or the restraint of reason;
inflamed by violent or uncontrollable desire, passion, or
appetite; as, to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred; mad
against political reform.
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It is the land of graven images, and they are mad
upon their idols. --Jer. 1. 88.
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And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted
them even unto strange cities. --Acts xxvi.
11.
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3. Proceeding from, or indicating, madness; expressing
distraction; prompted by infatuation, fury, or extreme
rashness. "Mad demeanor." --Milton.
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Mad wars destroy in one year the works of many years
of peace. --Franklin.
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The mad promise of Cleon was fulfilled. --Jowett
(Thucyd.).
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4. Extravagant; immoderate. "Be mad and merry." --Shak.
"Fetching mad bounds." --Shak.
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5. Furious with rage, terror, or disease; -- said of the
lower animals; as, a mad bull; esp., having hydrophobia;
rabid; as, a mad dog.
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6. Angry; out of patience; vexed; as, to get mad at a person.
[Colloq.]
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7. Having impaired polarity; -- applied to a compass needle.
[Colloq.]
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{Like mad}, like a mad person; in a furious manner; as, to
run like mad. --L'Estrange.
{To run mad}.
(a) To become wild with excitement.
(b) To run wildly about under the influence of
hydrophobia; to become affected with hydrophobia.
{To run mad after}, to pursue under the influence of
infatuation or immoderate desire. "The world is running
mad after farce." --Dryden.
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from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
58 Moby Thesaurus words for "like mad":
a corps perdu, all to pieces, carelessly, demonically, desperately,
fanatically, fiercely, frantically, frenetically, furiously,
happen what may, hastily, head over heels, headfirst, headforemost,
headlong, heedlessly, heels over head, helter-skelter, holus-bolus,
hotheadedly, hotly, hurriedly, hurry-scurry, impetuously,
like a flash, like a shot, like a streak, like blazes, like crazy,
like fury, like greased lightning, like lightning,
like one possessed, like sin, like sixty, madly, overeagerly,
overenthusiastically, overzealously, precipitantly, precipitately,
precipitously, ramble-scramble, recklessly, rigorously, severely,
slam-bang, slap-bang, slapdash, uncontrollably, vehemently,
venomously, violently, virulently, wantonly, wildly,
with a vengeance
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