go mad
idiom
1
: to become mentally ill
Sometimes I think the whole world has gone mad!
He went mad from years alone in the jungle.
2
: to act in a way that is out of control : to act wildly
The crowd went mad when the team won the championship.
Examples of go mad in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thus unleashed, my childhood self would go mad with unchecked power, petulantly turning dials just to see what happened to the citizens in my virtual ant farm.
—
Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
In this dark fantasy novella, the grieving father descends into Tartarus to try and reunite with Icarus, only to find that King Minos’ labyrinth was a cakewalk compared to the infinite stretches of Hell that can never be mapped nor designed without making its inhabitants go mad.
—Natalie Zutter
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
Powerful flashbacks detail how Oliver was forced to inject his ally with super solider serum Mirakuru to save his life, causing Slade to basically go mad and vow revenge on Oliver for allowing Shado (Celina Jade) to die so Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) could live.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
This was before the Beatles, so the people used to just go mad.
—Marina Watts, Peoplemag, 27 May 2024
The one-upping stage magicians of The Prestige, who go mad trying to best one another, are distinctly Nolanish figures.
—WIRED, 24 July 2023
All alone in the Manhattan high-rise, the burglar, Nemo (that’s Nobody, in Latin), begins to go mad.
—Fergus McIntosh, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2023
Her presence causes the Tantas to go mad and wage war against their people.
—Josh Broadwell, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2023
His Roman clients go mad for these bulbs: crunchy, exceptionally sweet and delicate.
—Silvia Marchetti, CNN, 8 Oct. 2022
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Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
In this dark fantasy novella, the grieving father descends into Tartarus to try and reunite with Icarus, only to find that King Minos’ labyrinth was a cakewalk compared to the infinite stretches of Hell that can never be mapped nor designed without making its inhabitants go mad.
—Natalie Zutter
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
Powerful flashbacks detail how Oliver was forced to inject his ally with super solider serum Mirakuru to save his life, causing Slade to basically go mad and vow revenge on Oliver for allowing Shado (Celina Jade) to die so Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) could live.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
This was before the Beatles, so the people used to just go mad.
—Marina Watts, Peoplemag, 27 May 2024
The one-upping stage magicians of The Prestige, who go mad trying to best one another, are distinctly Nolanish figures.
—WIRED, 24 July 2023
All alone in the Manhattan high-rise, the burglar, Nemo (that’s Nobody, in Latin), begins to go mad.
—Fergus McIntosh, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2023
Her presence causes the Tantas to go mad and wage war against their people.
—Josh Broadwell, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2023
His Roman clients go mad for these bulbs: crunchy, exceptionally sweet and delicate.
—Silvia Marchetti, CNN, 8 Oct. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Go mad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20mad. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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