From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmadnessmad‧ness /ˈmædnəs/ ●●○ noun [uncountable] 1 especially British EnglishCRAZY very stupid behaviour that could be dangerous or have a very bad effectit is madness (for somebody) to do something It would be madness to drive all that way on your own. Cutting down the forest is sheer madness (=completely crazy).2 MENTALLY ILLserious mental illness SYN insanity His family has a history of madness.3 → moment/fit of madness → there’s method in/to somebody’s madness at method(3)
Examples from the Corpus
madness• Bearing these points in mind, let us now start to consider the question of creativity and madness in more detail.• She made it sound like bally madness.• I grew possessed by madness to deceive.• Some prisoners feigned madness so that they would be released.• His madness and his recovery were still very much present to him, and he would occasionally talk or write about both.• Grandcourt finds Gwendolen screaming in a fit of madness.• Stores are preparing for the annual holiday shopping madness.• How could my dream have produced such madness?• Smith's photographs reflect the madness of our times.• Hera who never forgot a wrong sent the madness upon him.• By the end of the book, Peter's addiction has led him to madness and suicide.• Maya hears in its voice madness, self-hate.sheer madness• Cutting down the forest is sheer madness.• Clearing a rainforest in this way is sheer madness.• Moving from the shade to the middle of the field seemed sheer madness. 