delirious

/dəˈlɪriəs/

/dɪˈliriəs/

If you're delirious you're uncontrollably excited or a bit crazy, like when you win the lottery and run screaming through the streets, delirious with happiness.

While we sometimes like to say, metaphorically, that strong emotions make us delirious, this adjective has more grim origins, in the Latin word for delirium or "madness" — in the medical sense, that is. When you're delirious from a high fever or a serious bump to the head, you might become incoherent, hallucinate, or have disturbing dreams. The story of The Wizard of Oz is based on the delirious dream Dorothy has after she bumps her head during a tornado.

Definitions of delirious

1. adjective

   experiencing delirium
   synonyms: hallucinating

   ill, sick

   affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
2. adjective

   marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
   “a crowd of delirious baseball fans”

   synonyms: excited, frantic, mad, unrestrained

   wild

   marked by extreme lack of restraint or control